Portugal is known for being both a crypto-friendly country and a crypto tax haven. Now the government of Portugal is planning to announce its blockchain strategy in June. It believes this plan will be available for consultation by the end of the month and soon it will update the final draft.
In April 2020, the country announced plans to create Technological Free Zones (ZLTs), areas where firms may test products and services. The country’s statement states that blockchain technology will be tested as part of its digital transformation strategy.
People’s views on the Portugal crypto-market
Valentin Sotov, a software developer, sees Portugal as an important crypto market. Also, Sotov, a Ukrainian immigrant, is developing Amber, a crypto-based metaverse game. He said that the crypto haven country of Portugal offers “a tremendous opportunity for our product since we can collaborate with a lot of IT professionals in one spot.”
How Portugal supports the crypto-market
Portugal also hosts the yearly Web Summit, a major technological conference, as well as casual crypto meetups in bars. A small number of private crypto companies worth more than $1 billion have been launched by Portuguese entrepreneurs. Anchorage Digital, a digital asset bank based in northern Portugal, was founded by a Portuguese citizen.
The Portuguese exchanges Criptoloja and Mind the Coin were classified as virtual asset service providers by the central bank last year. On the central bank’s website, there are now five virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
