Portugal crypto policy, crypto taxes, and crypto events.
European Union member states are exploring the possibility of introducing a bloc-wide tax on capital gains from crypto-assets. The proposal is currently being considered as part of negotiations for the next EU multiannual budget to generate new community revenue.
The Judiciary Police (Polícia Judiciária or PJ) successfully recovered and returned approximately 500,000 euros to a victim of a cyber fraud scheme. The breach occurred after the victim clicked a malicious link on social media, allowing attackers to access cryptocurrency wallets.
The PJ (Polícia Judiciária) is Portugal's national criminal investigation police agency, founded in 1945. Operating under the Ministry of Justice and supervised by the Public Ministry (prosecutors), the PJ is a "higher criminal police body" specializing in serious and complex crimes. Mission: The PJ assists judicial and prosecuting authorities by investigating terrorism, organized crime, homicide, kidnapping, drug trafficking, corruption, cybercrime, financial crime, and money laundering. It conducts forensic examinations, operates Portugal's Interpol and Europol liaison offices, and maintains specialized units including the National Counterterrorism Unit and National Anti-Corruption Unit. Difference from PSP/GNR: While PSP (civilian urban police) and GNR (military rural police) focus on preventive policing, public order, and investigating minor crimes, the PJ exclusively handles serious crime investigation requiring specialized technical and scientific expertise. PSP and GNR report to the Ministry of Internal Affairs; PJ reports to the Ministry of Justice. PJ officers receive higher pay and prestige but face greater operational risk.
The National Association of Payment and Electronic Money Institutions (Associação Nacional de Instituições de Pagamento e Moeda Eletrónica or ANIPE) has warned that the Portuguese crypto-asset market risks paralysis following the end of the transition period for the European Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation on July 1st. The association has requested urgent clarification from the Bank of Portugal (Banco de Portugal) and the Securities Market Commission (Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários or CMVM) regarding the status of pending authorization processes.
The CMVM is Portugal's securities market regulator (Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários), which supervises stock markets, investment firms and investor protection. The CMVM will shortly present a proposal to the Government for Savings and Investment Accounts (CPI), so investors should follow the proposal for changes to retail investment options.
MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) is a comprehensive European Union regulation designed to standardize rules for crypto-asset service providers across all member states. It requires companies to obtain specific authorization to operate, ensuring greater consumer protection and market transparency compared to the previous fragmented national frameworks.
Starting July 1, new regulations for crypto-assets come into force, granting supervisory powers to the Bank of Portugal (Banco de Portugal) and the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários or CMVM). Companies failing to comply with the new sector duties or operating without authorization face fines of up to five million euros.
Mário José Gomes de Freitas Centeno (born 1966) is Portugal's central bank governor and one of the country's most internationally recognized economic figures. As Finance Minister under António Costa's first PS government, he became known as "Cristiano Ronaldo of European finance" for turning Portugal's deficit into a surplus while reversing austerity.
He was elected president of the Eurogroup (the informal body of euro area finance ministers) in 2018 — the first Portuguese to hold the role. Since becoming Governor of Banco de Portugal in 2020, he sits on the ECB's Governing Council and oversees Portuguese banking supervision and financial stability.
The CMVM is Portugal's securities market regulator (Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários), which supervises stock markets, investment firms and investor protection. The CMVM will shortly present a proposal to the Government for Savings and Investment Accounts (CPI), so investors should follow the proposal for changes to retail investment options.
The Bison Bank has introduced the first Portuguese stablecoin, a digital asset pegged to the euro and dollar. Designed exclusively for regulated financial institutions, the token aims to simplify and streamline international payments and transfers.
Industry coverage says 2024 brought legitimisation and 2025 saw experimentation with digital assets, while 2026 may be the year banks and big financial institutions move to strategic consolidation of asset tokenization. The debate is now about how quickly to integrate, scale and monetise tokenised assets and which institutions will offer related services. Clients and private investors should ask banks about any new digital‑asset products and be ready for new service offerings and risk disclosures.
Tokenization of assets is the process of creating digital tokens on a blockchain that represent ownership or rights in real-world assets such as property, art, or financial instruments. For expats, tokenization can mean easier fractional ownership and faster cross-border transfers, but it also raises legal and regulatory issues as rules evolve across the EU during 2024–2026.
