Where do we advise?

The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation ( MiCA) introduces a new concept of “Crypto-Asset Service Providers” ( CASPs), which are regulated persons that will be authorised to provide crypto-asset services throughout the European Union. Given that no one except CASPs and certain financial institutions will be allowed under the MiCA Regulation to provide cryptoasset services, clients:

• We advise on the analysis of their business models, whether they are subject to new regulation or to other regulation within the financial sector (e.g. collective investment or the provision of investment services and activities),
• cryptoassets business still under Slovak legislation (in particular, through trade licenses to provide virtual currency exchange services and virtual currency wallet services), but also for clients who are interested in operating in this area as a regulated institution, we provide legal services on how to comprehensively prepare for the MiCA Regulation.

What are our services in the licensing procedure?

If the client decides to apply for a CASP licence, we represent the client from the initial consultation of its business plan with the National Bank of Slovakia and subsequently in the preparation of the licence application, including the individual annexes, in cooperation directly with the client and, where appropriate, its other advisors, for example, in the field of IT security. After the application for a licence has been submitted, we represent the client before the National Bank of Slovakia in the licensing procedure itself, in which the National Bank of Slovakia will comprehensively assess the application with all its annexes.

What is our experience in the cryptoassets business?

Although Regulation MiCA is a relatively new regulation and CASPs are becoming a completely new regulated entity, we have been comprehensively addressing the topic of cryptoasset regulation for a long time, whether in the context of taxation, in the area of tokenised financial instruments, by speaking at the NBS conference on Regulation MiCA or also by organising a conference on the regulation and taxation of cryptoassets. In the past, even before the MiCA Regulation was adopted, we have advised clients on legal and tax issues such as:

• Primary issuance of hybrid tokens as well as their placement on a decentralised exchange as part of a secondary sale,
• Primary Token Issuance (ICO) and Security Token Issuance (STO),
• Establishing and managing alternative investment funds located in offshore jurisdictions and investing in cryptoassets,
• Structuring the business model in connection with the creation of cryptocurrency portfolio management services,
• Assessing the compliance of the cryptocurrency business model with the regulation of payment services and electronic money,
• Creating investment products investing in cryptoassets for client customers,
• Tokenisation of real estate through the issuance of NFTs,
• Creating a study for a client aimed at creating a legal and tax framework for the operation of its internal token system.

At the same time, as we have been involved in financial regulation for a long time and thus represent clients in authorisation, registration and sanction proceedings before the National Bank of Slovakia, our know-how is an elementary prerequisite for qualified representation of a client in the licensing proceedings for CASP activities before the National Bank of Slovakia. Our extensive experience in the field of financial regulation is demonstrated by the successful conferences (one of the largest of its kind in Slovakia) we have organised, whether in the area of real estate financing or the establishment and operation of investment funds.