Country overview

#31

Spain

Country stats

Rating Points

260

This indicator describes the overall rating of a given jurisdiction on several parameters according to cryptocurrency operations - market volume, crypto regulation, business climate, taxation framework.

Crypto Penetration

Estimated percentage of crypto users out of the country's total population based on public data.

Legal Entities

Number of crypto companies registered in the country based on regulator data if available or other types of public data.

Regulation Points

180

An overall assessment of the granularity of crypto regulation in a given country. A high score is also given to countries where cryptocurrency transactions are highly regulated.

Amount of crypto users

1 422 000

Total amount of crypto users out of the country's total population based on public data.

Taxation points

This figure, according to our analysts' calculations, indicates the overall level of tax burden for cryptocurrency transactions in a given country. The higher the indicator, the lower the burden.

Market volume points

160

A rough estimate of this jurisdiction's retail crypto market relative to the rest of the world. The higher the indicator, the higher the market potential.

Status of crypto

Legally allowed

General status of cryptocurrency regulation in this jurisdiction.

Crypto payments

Legally allowed

The legal status of cryptocurrency payments for goods and services in a given country based on information from regulators, public data and feedback from our community.

Security Level

Safe place

The overall level of security in a given country based on open data.

Crypto Salaries

Only part

The legal status of cryptocurrency salaries to employers in a given country based on information from regulators, public data and feedback from our community.

Business Climate

Medium

Overall assessment of the friendliness of this country for crypto-business. This indicator takes into account the cost of obtaining a license and the attitude towards crypto entities in the country.

Stablecoin Regulation

Basic

This indicator is evaluating the regulation of stablecoins in a given country. Complex regulation means that it is possible to issue steiblcoins and obtain a license for this activity. Basic regulation means that the issuance of stablecoins is possible, but not all legal aspects are defined in the law. Standard regulation means that there is a legal practice of steylcoin circulation in a given country.

Bad Factors

This section describes the unfavorable economic factors for crypto-business in a given country. These are countries that are under sanctions or on the FATF grey list and other factors.

Types of licenses

Crypto-to-crypto

This license type allows VASP to provide legal exchange from one cryptocurrency to another.

Crypto-to-fiat

This type of license regulates the exchange from cryptocurrency to fiat.

Wallet/Custody

This country has a legal licensing procedure for companies that store cryptocurrency - - crypto wallet providers and custodians.

Good

Medium

Bad

intro

You could call Spain one of the EU's second-tier countries in the field of crypto adoption. Many investors and users are here, and Spain already has a licensing procedure. At the same time, it is not as progressive as France, Portugal, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Spain also has relatively high tax rates and also imposed wealth tax.

Security level

Spain has a safe place security level according to our rating. It has 64.2 points (from 100) for safety level in Numbeo crime rating (1). The h omicide level (2) is 0.6 per 100,000 inhabitants a year. Story of firearm-related death (3) 0.57 per 100,000 inhabitants a year.

Crypto Payments

Crypto payments are legal in Spain based on Yoigo (4). One of the proofs (5) that crypto payments are possible in Spain is that the mobile operator Telefónica is accepting crypto payments.

Crypto Salaries

The interpretation of the Spanish labor law says (6) that it’s possible to pay salaries only in legal tender. Crypto salaries are not permitted since payment instruments, according to local regulations, must have a stable price and not be volatile. However, since crypto payments are legal in Spain, employees can get additional rewards.

Legal

T here has yet to be a law (7) on cryptocurrencies in Spain. However, an AML law (8) was approved by the local parliament in 2020.

CMNV (9) is the Spanish Securities Regulator, which regulates cryptos. Also, some regulations are issued by the Bank of Spain.

The Register of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) was launched (10) by the Bank of Spain in October 2022. The bank clarified the register volume and determined the types of companies and individuals required to register. Bank of Spain announced (11) that all crypto platforms offering their services in Spain, including those outside the country, must be registered.

A list of operating VASPs was created(12) by the Bank of Spain in October 2021. According to White Case (13), the procedure for their registration is described in The AML Law, which means they are subject to the supervision of the Spanish Money Laundering Prevention Agency ("SEPBLAC").

Based on CincoDias (14), are 67 platforms in the register as of June 2023 (15).

Details

The first VASP license in Spain was approved (16) in February 2022. Operatin companies include(16¹) Jobchain España, Jobchain Austria, Criptan Trade, Eurocoin Broker, Lemacoin Crypto Solutions, Bitpanda, Kriptomat, and Vottun. Binance (17) also got a VASP license in the summer of 2023. According to crypto cards, Eurocoinpay has launched (18) a joint project with Mastercard in the country.

Spanish security regulator, the CNMV, has acknowledged (19) that UCITS can invest in cryptocurrencies.

If you are interested in information about mining, you can read about it in the Freeman law article(20) and this mining guide (21). There are no cases (22) of ICOs in the country.

Taxation

Tax name	Index
PIT tax Min	19
PIT tax Max	47
Corporate tax (CIT)	25
Min Individual CGT (for crypto)	19
Max Individual CGT (for crypto)	26
Wealth tax Min	0.2
Wealth tax Max	3.75
Mining tax
TDS tax

Based on AML law (23), Spanish residents need to “provide detailed information on balances and transactions carried out inside and outside of Spain” - including crypto transactions.

According to Global Legal Insights (24), “Crypto assets are added within the list of goods that must be reported in the Informative Declaration on Assets and Rights located abroad”.

You may get more insights about crypto taxation in Spain in the Koinly Tax Guide(25).

PIT

Based on PWC (26), the PIT rate in Spain is between 19% and 47%.

CGT

Based on Balcells Group (27), CGT from sales of cryptocurrencies has a 19% rate if the profit is lower than 6,000. Suppose the sum is between 6,000 - 50,000 - 21% and 23% for higher amounts. According to PWC taxsummaries (28) income higher than 200,000 has 27% rate and over 300,000 - 28%.

CIT

The standard CIT rate in Spain is 25%. According to Baker & McKenzie (29), Spain has an 18% VAT for mining.

Wealth Tax

Spain has a wealth tax (30) between 0,2% to 3,75% - depending on the region.

Links

1)Crime Index by Country 2023 Mid-Year

2)List of countries by intentional homicide rate

3)List of countries by firearm-related death rate

4) YOIGO. Cobrar en criptomonedas: ¿es legal o ilegal en España? Getting paid in cryptocurrencies: is it legal or illegal in Spain? March 16, 2022. Article

5)Bitcoin magazine. Spain’s Largest Telecom Company, Telefónica, Now Accepts Bitcoin and crypto Payments. Shawn Amick. September 30, 2022. Article

6)GARRIGUES. IS IT POSSIBLE TO PAY AN EMPLOYEE’S SALARY IN CRYPTOCURRENCY? Vanessa Sánchez Balboa. February 24, 2022. Article

7 and 19)The Law Reviews. The Virtual Currency Regulation Review: Spain. Pilar Lluesma. Rodrigo and Miguel Pérez. Uría Menéndez. 07 September 2022. Article

8 and 23)CONGRESO DE LOS DIPUTADOS. CONGRESS OF DEPUTIES. PDF-file

9)La Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV). The National Securities Market Commission (CNMV)

10)bitcoin.news. Bank of Spain Opens Mandatory Registry for VASPs. Sergio Goschenko. October 26, 2021. Article

11 and 12)Banco de España. Registro de proveedores de servicios de cambio de moneda virtual por moneda fiduciaria y de custodia de monederos electrónicos. Registration of service providers for exchanging virtual currency for fiduciary currency and custody of electronic wallets.

13)White case. Spain enacts the first legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies. Juan Manuel de Remedios. Esther Gabilondo. November 23, 2021. Article

14)Cinco Dias. El rompecabezas de la actividad de Binance en España: conflictos con la CNMV y sombras regulatorias. The puzzle of Binance's activity in Spain: conflicts with the CNMV and regulatory shadows

15)Banco de España. Registro proveedores de servicios de moneda virtual y monederos electrónicos. Registration of virtual currency service providers and electronic wallets.

16)bitcoin.com.Bank of Spain Approves Its First VASP License. Sergio. February 18, 2022. Article

16¹)El registro de proveedores de 'criptos' del Banco de España ya cuenta con 15 empresas

17)bitcoin. Com. Binance Gets a VASP License From the Bank of Spain. Sergio Goschenko. July 11, 2022. Article

18)bitcoin.com. Eurocoinpay Partners With Mastercard to Launch One of the First Cryptocurrency-Based Cards in Spain. Sergio Goschenko. September 20, 2022. Article

20 and 30)Freeman law. Spain and Cryptocurrency.

21)Freeman law. MINING EXPLAINED: A DETAILED GUIDE ON HOW CRYPTOCURRENCY MINING WORKS.

22 and 24)global legal insights. Blockchain Cryptocurrency Laws and Regulations 2023 | Spain.

25)Koinly. Spain Crypto Tax Guide 2023. Michelle Legge. May 30, 2023. Article

26 and 28)PWC. Spain. Individual - Taxes on personal income

27)balcells group.Impuestos sobre Criptomonedas en España: Cuánto y Cómo Pagar. Taxes on Cryptocurrencies in Spain: How Much and How to Pay.

29)Finsight. Spanish Cryptoasset Landscape: New Legal Developments towards a More Regulated Sector. PAULA DE BIASE AND JAVIER BLÁZQUEZ. May 19, 2021. Article

Articles

research

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