MiCA and AML transposition roadmap

The government published a draft on 20 October 2025 outlining portugal crypto regulation to transpose EU MiCA and strengthen oversight of digital tokens.

What does the transposition of MiCA and AML reforms change for Portugal? In brief:

How does eu crypto regulation (MiCA) and EU Regulation 2023/1114 fit into the draft?

The draft explicitly references EU Regulation 2023/1114 and aligns national rules with the EU regime. In this context it seeks to bring crypto-asset service providers under clearer licensing and reporting obligations while preserving existing national rules such as Law No.

83 of 18 August 2017. Tip: Companies should map which services fall under the new definitions and evaluate licensing and reporting gaps promptly.

Firms operating in Portugal should expect harmonised conduct and operational standards that reflect the EU framework. The government published the proposal on 2025-10-20, opening technical review and consultation windows.

The transposition anchors national law in the MiCA framework and clarifies authorisation and reporting duties for market operators.

How will supervision, consumer protection and AML be strengthened? In brief:

Which authorities will enforce MiCA and AML — Bank of Portugal or CMVM? (crypto asset supervision portugal)

The draft increases powers for both the Bank of Portugal and the CMVM, assigning clearer supervisory scopes between prudential and conduct oversight.

It also tightens anti-money laundering controls for crypto and extends preventive duties to crypto service providers, effectively treating them as financial institutions for AML purposes under the national framework.

Practical impact: firms will need to upgrade AML transaction monitoring, implement KYT tooling and formalise enhanced due diligence — projects that typically require three to nine months depending on complexity.

Supervisors are likely to prioritise custody, segregation and incident-response arrangements and to step up cross-border information-sharing.

Note: the Banco de Portugal has observed that “To date, the national law implementing the MiCA Regulation has not yet been published”, and the draft proposes transitional arrangements to ease implementation; see the central bank statement here.

Supervisory powers and AML duties are being clarified and strengthened, aligning enforcement with EU standards and national oversight capacity.

What is the legislative timeline and parliamentary process? In brief:

What stage is the bill at after the Parliament first reading vote and what are the next steps?

The proposal passed a Parliament first reading vote and now moves to committee review and final approval stages.

Secretary of State João Silva Lopes presented the package in the debate and framed it as delivering “regulatory stability” while protecting consumers and investors.

Market participants should follow committee schedules and prepare technical submissions; the draft includes a proposed transitional extension to June 2026 to allow phased compliance ahead of EU-aligned deadlines.

For context on parliamentary developments see a related coverage of the vote on consumer protection and a summary of regulatory reactions on parliamentary votes.

The bill’s first reading passed on 20 October 2025 and a transition to June 2026 aims to give firms time to align with authorisation, supervision and AML obligations.