Italy prepares MiCA guidelines for local financial institutions

The Governor of the Bank of Italy acknowledged potential conflicts between MiCA rules and existing Italian financial laws. MiCA mandates that issuers of electronic money tokens must hold appropriate authorisations, such as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence, to operate within the European Union. However, MiCA's inclusion of asset-reference tokens is at odds with Italian laws, which do not provide for regulated means of payment according to paymentexpert.com. 

Bank of Italy officials emphasised the bank's view that Electronic Money Tokens (EMTs), issued by banks or electronic money institutions, are the only instruments capable of serving as means of payment while maintaining public trust.

Italy's stance on crypto 

Italy has recently adopted stricter measures against crypto and digital asset firms, including penalties for market manipulation, ranging from EUR 5,000 to EUR 5 million, depending on the severity of the offence. The country also highlighted concerns about stablecoins potentially destabilising the euro and emphasised the need for a regulatory framework for stablecoins, aligning with MiCA's oversight of stablecoin issuers across Europe.

MiCA's Article 23 prohibits crypto providers from circulating non-euro currencies as a means of exchange if transactions exceed one million or the value surpasses EUR 200 million per day. Consequently, Bitstamp delisted Tether’s EURT stablecoin, while Circle obtained regulatory approval through an EMI licence to offer USDC and EURC stablecoins. 

While Italy's stance on native crypto regulations remains uncertain, national crypto firms must comply with MiCA and Italy's new penalty measures, given the country's membership in the EU.