Romania Drafts an Emergency Ordinance to Regulate "Electronic Money"

On Thursday, July 5th, a local news source reported that the Romanian Ministry of Finance has drafted an emergency ordinance to regulate electronic forms of money. The draft places the supervision of electronic currency issuance into the hands of the Romanian National Bank, and limits the kinds of organizations that have legal permission to issue electronic currency.

Business Review reported that according to the draft, electronic currencies will only be legally operational if they are issued by credit institutions, the European Central Bank and central banks of EU member states (as long as they are not acting as ‘monetary authorities’ in any other capacity), and the governments of EU member states.

Time to buy the dip?

The Draft Requires a 3-Month Application Period

Under the draft, institutions who wish to launch an electronic currency must submit an application to the Romanian National Bank to be reviewed over a period of three months. During the review, the Bank will ensure that the organization has developed the appropriate management structures and effective procedures for identifying risks.

The draft sets a 350,000-euro minimum on the amount of share capital necessary to launch an electronic currency. It also declared that organizations with plans to develop electronic currencies must first have their legal and tax records checked and verified. Additionally, the Romanian National Bank must approve each member of the issuing organization individually.

According to Business Review, the ordinance also provided a legal definition of electronic money as “monetary value stored electronically, including magnetic, representing a claim on the issuer issued on receipt of funds for the purpose of performing payment transactions and which is accepted by a person other than the issuer of electronic money.”

It is still unclear when the draft will be passed into law.

Romania’s First Blockchain NGO Was Formed in March

Compared to many other countries within the EU, Romania has been rather slow to address the need for regulation of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries.

Still, the blockchain industry in Romania has pressed forward. The United Blockchain Association of Romania, a non-government organization formed with the aim of providing Romanian citizens with the necessary tools to ensure safe use of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies, made its debut in late March of this year.

Andrei Stanica, the organization’s president, said earlier this year that “our organization aims to provide an umbrella to support the common interests of those who are actively involved in this field… We want to unify the ad-hoc groups and create a strong coalition, which will be the interface in direct communication with the Government, the Parliament, the central bank and the Financial Supervisory Authority.”