Legal 500 (4) states this is “an attractive jurisdiction for medium- and large-scale blockchain infrastructure projects.”
As subjecting service providers to the Anti-Money Laundering(4¹) (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism regulations is another way to prevent financial crime, the bill further clarifies the situation concerning digital securities(4²). In this context, this article will discuss the Liechtenstein Blockchain Act and the status of cryptocurrency in Liechtenstein.
Liechtenstein is the first nation to specifically regulate the token economy by passing the Token and Trustworthy Technology Service Providers Act (also known as the Blockchain Act or the Liechtenstein Blockchain Act).
So, Liechtenstein Blockchain ACT (5) legally defines all types of tokens and crypto assets.
Financial Market Authority Liechtenstein (FMA) regulates all financial market participants in the country and is the main crypto regulator. Banks and payment services operating with crypto may also need other types of FMA licenses. The term “TT services” in local regulations defines VAPSs.
According to Legal 500 (6), there are the following types of crypto entities in Liechtenstein:
Token generator (technical issuer of tokens)
Token issuer (legal issuer of tickets)
Private keys custodian
Token custodian
Physical validator (between token and tokenized assets)
Protector (holding tickets in his name for account of third parties)
Exchange office operator (token exchange for fiat)
Verifying authority (checking the ability to conclude the deal and the preconditions to sell tokens)
Price service provider
Identity service provider (identifying the authorized person of the token and making a registry).
Based on Cointelegraph overview (7), a token can also represent payment tokens, utility tokens, security tokens, music rights, patents, utility coins, software rights, etc.
The foundation of the Liechtenstein Blockchain Act is the Token Container Model, in which a token functions as a container that can hold any right. A right that represents a real asset, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities, or fiat money, can be "loaded" into the container. The container could, however, be empty, for instance, the digital code of the Bitcoin blockchain.
Liechtenstein’s AML policy is available in the Council of Europe guide (8). The list of registered TT services is published on the FMA website (9).
Liechtenstein as EEA member will implement MiCAR licensing requirements. According to FMA website TT regulations and licensed entities have transition period until the end of 2025.