Ireland

Ireland, while relatively small, is an EU member state with a strong tech orientation and an expanding cryptocurrency environment. It doesn't possess any laws or regulations explicitly for the crypto sector, instead adhering to the pre-existing legal framework for financial services and taxation.

Crypto payments in Ireland are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), which is also responsible for the country's monetary policy and banking system.

The Irish government champions emerging technologies, including blockchain, the underlying technology for most cryptocurrencies. However, it has yet to provide unambiguous guidance on its stance toward Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and crypto payments.

The CBI has proposed that crypto payments could potentially fall under the regulatory scope of ''transferable securities'' in accordance with the EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II). This classification would be contingent upon the specific features of each crypto payment and would require case-by-case evaluation by the CBI.

Should a crypto payment be regulated as a transferable security, it would be subject to the same rules and obligations as other financial instruments. These include prospectus requirements, disclosure obligations, market abuse prohibitions, and investor protection measures. Moreover, any entity providing services related to such a crypto payment—be it trading, custody, exchange, or advice—would need to obtain authorization from the CBI and comply with relevant regulatory standards.