Spain Approves Bill Requiring Crypto Holders to Disclose Assets

On Oct. 19, Spain's Ministry of Finance approved an anti-fraud law.

Requiring all holders of cryptocurrency in the country to disclose their asset balances, according to Spanish news outlet ABC.Spain introduces law to force investors to reveal crypto holdings #cryptocurrency #news https://t.

Minister of Finance María Jesús Montero stated at a press conference regarding the new law that it will require "The identification of the holders and the balances contributed by these virtual currencies," adding, "It is stated as mandatory that people and companies inform the Tax Agency about this operation."

Spain's General Directorate on Taxation currently states that profits derived from cryptocurrency transactions are taxable as income tax, but transactions with bitcoins specifically are exempt from value-added tax.

Residents of Spain with crypto holdings stored abroad will also have to report them in an annual declaration of goods abroad filing on their 720 tax form if the new law passes.

Currently, Spain doesn't appear to regulate cryptocurrencies, having issued a statement in February of this year that cryptos are not considered legal tender and therefore not subject to any of the regulations or backed by any of the protections of conventional banking institutions.

At the same time, Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has expressed an interest.

In crypto-friendly tax break legislation for businesses.

Spain's Banco Santander, the largest financial institution in Europe, also took part in testing of Ripple Labs' XRapid product.

Over 100 coffee shops in Spain now accept cryptocurrency as payment.