At issue are decrees, recently approved in parliament, that reinforce the regulation on transactions with crypto assets from July 2026 and update the measures to combat money laundering to adapt them to the reality of transfers with certain crypto assets.

On December 13th, the President of the Republic enacted the new rules on crypto-assets, but with reservations, stating that he did so to prevent Portugal from being punished for not legislating European rules (specifically the MiCA - European Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation, approved in 2023 but not yet applied in Portugal) and because he considers it better to have "deficient control than none at all".

The new rules define that the entities responsible for the regulation and supervision of crypto-assets in Portugal are the Bank of Portugal and the Securities Market Commission (CMVM), sharing powers, and that they will be responsible for regularly publishing the updated list of entities authorised to provide crypto-asset services in Portugal, also specifying the services for which they are authorised.

The duties of those providing crypto-asset services are also defined, including worker training, although the law is not very specific in this context.

Penalties

Under the sanctions regime, penalties are foreseen for those who violate their duties as cryptocurrency service providers. In the case of very serious infractions, fines can reach up to €2.5 million for individuals and €5 million for companies.

The limits of the fines can also increase, reaching, for example, 15% of revenue in the case of infractions related to market abuses linked to cryptocurrencies.

Among the very serious infractions are providing cryptocurrency services without authorisation from the authorities, market manipulation, or communicating false or incomplete information to authorities, the public, or clients.

In addition to fines, accessory sanctions may also be applied, such as restitution of profits obtained or losses avoided as a result of the infraction, or prohibition of activities.