A (non-comprehensive) list of financial services supervisory agencies and legal frameworks applicable to the crypto lending sector in major jurisdictions around the world
This page focuses on regulations that are either passed as laws by national legislatures or their equivalent, or formally issued by regulatory agencies.
We follow the definition of “regulator” as agencies that issue binding rules for the financial sector, more specifically for distributed ledger technology (DLT) or crypto lending, when appropriate. We define “supervisor” as an agency which enforces these rules. The two terms are often used interchangeably.
This list may not include individual laws that apply to financial services firms, and which govern specific topics, such as
- Fraud and consumer protection
- Data privacy
- Cybersecurity, resilience, and risk management
- Anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC)
This page is a work in progress. If anything is missing or incorrect, please contact the Crypto Credit Association via info {at} our domain.
THIS WEBSITE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.
Africa
Ghana
Nigeria
South Africa
Asia
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Israel
Japan
Malaysia
Singapore
Rules and Regulations
Singapore does not currently (February 2024) have any crypto-specific laws in force.
Financial services that may apply to crypto businesses in Singapore include the following:
- The Payment Services Act 2019 (PS), which came into effect in January 2020, regulates various payment services, including digital payment token services (cryptocurrency services). Entities engaging in digital payment token services are required to be registered and comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) regulations.
- The Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 (FSMA) regulates financial institutions, including those dealing with digital payment tokens. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) oversees and enforces compliance with the FSA.
- The Securities and Futures Act 2001 (SFA) regulates securities and derivatives trading. Digital tokens that exhibit characteristics of securities may fall under the purview of the SFA. Issuers conducting initial coin offerings (ICOs) or operating digital token exchanges may need to comply with these regulations.
As of present (February 2024), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued several clarifications on the use of DPTs (Digital Payment Technologies), as well as various consultations on the expansion of existing regulations such as the PS and FSA to cover DPTs. We are unaware of any crypto lending-specific rules.
The MAS maintains a reference list of rules related to digital currencies here.
Supervisory Authorities
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is the financial services regulator for Singapore.
South Korea
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
Europe
European Union (EU)-Wide
Rules and Regulations
The EU has two main types of rules: ”Directives“, which must be transposed into national law by member states, and “Regulations“, which apply to all member states equally across the Union. An overview is available here:
https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/law/types-legislation_en
The EU does not yet have legislation specifically aimed at crypto lending. European consumer credit is governed by several directives, listed here.
The EU’s main regulation for crypto assets is currently (February 2024) the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR – 2023/1114). It does not contain any explicit provisions for crypto lending / credit.
MiCAR defines “e-Money tokens” to include stablecoins. They are thus covered, unless specifically excepted by MiCAR, by the E-Money Directive (2009/110/EC).
EU securities are governed by the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II – 2014/65/EU) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR – Regulation 600/2014). Importantly, MiFID II also applies to non-EU members of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein).
Which crypto assets count as “securities” in the EU varies from state to state and is currently (February 2024) still evolving, as illustrated by this note. Furthermore, the expansion of “financial instruments” to include digital assets is currently (February 2024) under consultation.
Further EU regulations and directives which may apply to crypto lending-related firms doing business in the Union include:
- Payment Accounts Directive (PAD – 2014/92/EU)
- Payment Services Directive (PSD2 – 215/2366)
- General Data Protection Directive (GDPR – 216/679)
EU laws are available via EUR-LEX.
Supervisory Authorities
Financial supervision in the EU falls under the European System of Financial Supervision (ESFS), explained here:
https://finance.ec.europa.eu/regulation-and-supervision/european-system-financial-supervision_en
The European Banking Authority (EBA) and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) are the main EU-wide financial supervisory agencies.
Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Rules and Regulations
French laws can be searched via Légifrance.
Supervisory Authorities
The following agencies are responsible for, or involved in, regulating crypto and/or lending in France:
AMF (Autorité des Marchés Financiers) – The AMF is the French financial markets regulator. It issues guidelines and regulations related to financial activities, including cryptofinance.
ACPR (Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution) – ACPR is the French prudential supervisory authority. It oversees banks and insurance companies and may be involved in regulating certain aspects of crypto lending.
Banque de France – the central bank of France, Banque de France, may issue guidelines or regulations related to crypto lending.
Germany
https://www2.deloitte.com/dl/en/pages/legal/articles/micar-e-geld-token-crypto.html
Greece
Iceland (non-EU)
Ireland
Italy
Liechtenstein (non-EU)
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
The Netherlands
Norway (non-EU)
Poland
Portugal
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland (non-EU)
The Swiss State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) has an explanation of the Swiss legal approach to blockchain/DLT.
Cointelegraph has a good overview of the Swiss crypto-related regulatory structure.
Rules and Regulations
Switzerland treats crypto lending like conventional credit.
The Federal Act on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Electronic Register Technology (German link) was adopted in 2021.
Swiss federal laws are available via Fedlex.
Supervisory Authority
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht, FINMA) is the Swiss financial supervisory agency.
United Kingdom (non-EU)
North America and Caribbean
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Canada
Cayman Islands
Mexico
United States of America
Due to the high complexity and fluid nature of US laws, rules, and supervisory agency responsibilities, the CCA strongly advises any organization doing business in the United States to obtain qualified legal advice about national and state rules.
Rules and Regulations
The USA currently (February 2024) has no uniform or clear laws for crypto assets and transactions. Several rules and opinions issued by supervisory agencies exist, but these are still very much evolving.
Financial services regulations that have been invoked in relation to crypto or lending include the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT). The US has a large number of other relevant rules governing, for example, consumer protection, anti-money laundering (AML), accounting, and other areas, that are too numerous to mention here.
In addition, many states and territories in the US have specific financial regulations.
US laws can be searched via the congressional website. SEC rules are listed on SEC.gov. SEC filings are accessible via EDGAR. This does not include court rulings and other agencies’ decisions.
Supervisory Authorities
The main US national financial supervisory agency is the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), an independent agency.
Other agencies which have been involved in setting and enforcing rules for crypto activities include the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Other agencies, such as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), have varying degrees of involvement in enforcing financial services regulation relevant to the crypto sector.
Each US state and territory also has its own financial regulator/supervisor that is responsible for at least part of the financial industry within that state/territory. the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) maintains a list of state bank regulators here. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) is “the national organization for state financial regulators[…]”. Major state supervisory agencies include the New York State Department of Financial Services (NY DFS) and the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI).