SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Alfonso López-Ibor Aliño, Olivia López-Ibor Jaume and Victoria Moreno Motilva, López-Ibor Abogados
DeFi-related misconduct through existing frameworks relating to unauthorised financial services, AML/CFT compliance, consumer protection, market abuse, misleading marketing practices, and operational risk management.
as the PSR will introduce new requirements directly applicable across all member states. Additionally, the recast Transfer of Funds Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, the “TFR”) imposes the so-called “travel rule” on CASPs, requiring them to collect, verify, and transmit originator and beneficiary information in cryp- to-asset transfers. The TFR is directly applicable and complements MiCA’s AML/CFT framework, ensuring that crypto-asset transfers are subject to traceability requirements equivalent to those applicable to tradi- tional wire transfers. 6.2 Stablecoins 6.2.1 Fiat Currency and Algorithmic Stablecoins Spanish law, as harmonised through MiCA, draws a clear regulatory distinction between fiat currency and stablecoins, although MiCA does not use the term “algorithmic stablecoin” as a formal legal category. Fiat currency – in practice, the euro – constitutes legal tender, issued by the Eurosystem and benefiting from mandatory acceptance for debt settlement under EU monetary law, as well as full integration into regulated payment and settlement systems. Stablecoins are regulated under MiCA as two principal categories of asset-referenced crypto-assets: • Electronic money tokens (EMTs) are crypto-assets designed to maintain a stable value by reference to a single fiat currency. They are functionally akin to electronic money and must be issued at par value, with a corresponding redemption right at any time. • Asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) are crypto-assets referencing a basket of assets, which may include currencies, commodities, or other crypto-assets. They are subject to more stringent authorisation requirements, including reserve asset, governance, and risk management obligations. “Algorithmic stablecoins” – tokens that seek to main- tain price stability through algorithmic mechanisms such as supply adjustments, arbitrage incentives, or smart contract logic, without full asset backing – are not recognised as a distinct legal category. Instead, they are assessed on a functional basis.
6. Payments and Stablecoins 6.1 Payments
Payments in crypto-assets are permitted in Spain, but they are not recognised as legal tender. Crypto-assets such as Bitcoin or Ether may be used as a means of exchange between private parties, and merchants may voluntarily accept them. However, only the euro benefits from legal tender status and the associated protections under EU monetary and payment law. Regulation focuses primarily not on the act of paying with crypto-assets, but on the intermediaries facilitat- ing such payments. Where a provider offers custody, exchange, transfer, or payment-processing services involving crypto-assets, it will generally fall within the scope of a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) under MiCA and require authorisation. In Spain, CASPs are supervised primarily by the CNMV, with the Bank of Spain involved where e-money tokens or payment institution frameworks are engaged. Where crypto-asset payment flows involve fiat con- version, electronic money, or payment accounts, addi- tional regulatory regimes may apply, including PSD2 and e-money regulation, potentially triggering licens- ing as a payment or e-money institution depending on the structure of the service. In this regard, the European Commission has pro- posed a revised Payment Services Directive (PSD3) together with a directly applicable Payment Servic- es Regulation (PSR), which will update and replace PSD2. These instruments are expected to strengthen the regulatory framework applicable to the intersec- tion between payment services and crypto-asset activities, including in relation to providers facilitating fiat-to-crypto conversions and the interaction between CASPs and payment or electronic money institutions. CASPs whose services involve payment-related func- tionalities should monitor these developments closely,
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