בעלגיע זאגט אַז בטק, ETH און אנדערע דיסענטראַלייזד קאָינס זענען נישט סיקיוראַטיז

Belgium’s financial regulatory body has confirmed its position that Bitcoin (בטק), יטער (ETH) and other cryptocurrencies that are issued solely by computer code do not constitute securities.

The explanation came from Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) in a Nov. 22 באַריכט, a draft of which was opened for comment in Jul. 2022.

The clarification comes following an increase in demands for answers as to how Belgium’s existing financial laws and regulations apply to digital assets, according to the FSMA.

While not legally binding under Belgium or European Union law, the FSMA stated that under its “stepwise plan,” cryptocurrencies would be classed as a security if it was issued by an individual or entity”:

"אויב עס איז קיין ישוער, ווי אין קאַסעס ווו ינסטראַמאַנץ זענען באשאפן דורך אַ קאָמפּיוטער קאָד און דאָס איז נישט געטאן אין דורכפירונג פון אַ העסקעם צווישן ישוער און ינוועסטער (למשל, ביטקאָין אָדער יטער), דעמאָלט אין פּרינציפּ די פּראָספּעקט רעגולאַטיאָן, די פּראָספּעקטוס געזעץ און די MiFID כּללים פון אָנפירן זענען נישט אַפּלייז.

The Belgian regulatory body noted that cryptocurrencies which are not categorized as securities may still be subject to other regulations if a company uses the digital asset as a medium of exchange:

פונדעסטוועגן, אויב די ינסטראַמאַנץ האָבן אַ צאָלונג אָדער וועקסל פֿונקציע, אנדערע רעגיאַליישאַנז קען אַפּלייז צו די ינסטראַמאַנץ אָדער די מענטשן וואָס צושטעלן זיכער סערוויסעס מיט די ינסטראַמאַנץ.

FSMA also noted that its stepwise plan is neutral to the technology — suggesting that it’s irrelevant whether digital assets exist and are facilitated on a blockchain or through other traditional means.

The FSMA first drafted the report in Jul. 2022 as a means to address frequently asked questions by Belgian-based issuers, offerers and service providers of digital assets.

FSMA stated that the stepwise plan would serve as a guideline until the European Parliament’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) is adopted, which is דערוואַרט to take effect at the start of 2024..

פֿאַרבונדענע: נישט נעמען די צייט צו לערנען וועגן בטק איז "אייראָפּע ס ביגאַסט ריזיקירן," זאגט בעלגיאַן מפּ

Belgium’s clear guidelines are in contrast to the “regulation by enforcement” approach taken by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission’s (SEC) which is currently vying for digital asset regulatory control with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

While SEC chairman Gary Gensler has long considered BTC to constitute a commodity, he’s recently argued that post-Merge ETH and other staked coins may constitute a security under the Howey test.

Belgium hasn’t been a huge adopter of digital assets to date, with a recent study from blockchain data platform Chainalysis ראַנגקינג Belgium 94th in its Global Crypto Adoption Index.

Residents in the European country have access to 10 crypto exchanges, לויט to data from crypto data resource Bitrawr.