PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: João G Gil Figueira, Rodrigue Devillet Lima and Catarina Andrade Miranda, GFDL Advogados
10.6 Staking There are currently no specific regulations solely dedicated to staking activity. However, staking may fall under broader regulatory frameworks depending on its structure and the services pro - vided. 10.7 Crypto-Related Lending There are no specific provisions for cryptocur - rency loans, and as such, they will be regulated under the general provisions of the Portuguese Civil Code or the Commercial Code, depending on the nature of the parties involved in the lend - ing agreement. For “private loans,” written contract is required for loans exceeding EUR2,500. For amounts over EUR25,000, the agreement must be for - malised through a public deed. If both parties involved in the loan are commer - cial entities, the formalities outlined above will be waived in accordance with the Commercial Code. 10.8 Cryptocurrency Derivatives Derivatives, by their nature, represent a dis - tinct class of securities. Therefore, cryptocur - rency derivatives fall under the classification of financial instruments as outlined in Section C of Annex I of MiFID II and must adhere to its gen - eral provisions. 10.9 Decentralised Finance (DeFi) There is no set of specific regulations or laws governing DeFi. Even if the platform is decen - tralised, certain regulatory obligations may still apply depending on the nature of the services provided.
tions for publishing a public offering prospectus as stipulated in the Portuguese Securities Code. As for other tokens that do not qualify as securi - ties because they do not meet the requirements above, it is necessary to determine whether they fall within the scope of the AML Act regarding entities engaged in activities with virtual assets (ie, VASPs). If so, they are subject to compliance with applicable legal and regulatory provisions relating to AML and counter-terrorism financing (see 6.3 Impact of the Emergence of Crypto- currency Exchanges ). On the other hand, if a token is classified as an asset-referenced token or an e-money token, it will fall within the scope of MiCA regulation and be subject to its requirements for issuers/ offerors. 10.5 Regulation of Blockchain Asset Trading Platforms The regulation of crypto-assets is primarily determined by the categorisation of the assets being traded. VASPs offering services described in 10.4 Regu- lation of “Issuers” of Blockchain Assets must adhere to diverse regulatory obligations con - cerning customer identification and verification, AML and the prevention of financing terrorism. If virtual assets are classified as financial instru - ments or products, the exchange operator may need to obtain a license to offer investment ser - vices in accordance with the Portuguese Secu - rities Code. This code implements MiFID II and may also be subject to the DLT Pilot Regime, depending on the circumstances. For more on this topic, see 10.4 Regulation of “Issuers” of Blockchain Assets .
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