BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 23. The National Bank of Georgia has approved new rules for virtual asset providers to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, Trend reports.
"Rules for registration, de-registration and regulation of virtual asset service providers at the National Bank of Georgia" will come into force on July 1, 2023.
Virtual Asset Service Provider in this context refers to entities that provide Virtual Asset Services on behalf of others. The new rules include requirements for the registration procedure for virtual asset service providers, as well as criteria that must be met by administrators, head offices, branches, self-service kiosks, electronic systems, and other components related to servicing virtual assets. The main purpose of these requirements is to counter money laundering and terrorist financing.
The rules also take into account post-registration obligations in line with international best practices and recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The concept of virtual asset services covers the following activities:
Exchange of a convertible virtual asset (including the use of self-service kiosks) for national or foreign currency, other virtual assets or financial instruments.
Transfer of a Convertible Virtual Asset.
Custody/administration of the convertible virtual asset, or the relevant instruments necessary for its use, to maintain control over the virtual asset.
Management of individual portfolios consisting of convertible virtual assets (except collective investment).
Administration of the trading platform for convertible virtual assets.
Issuance of loans in the form of convertible virtual assets.
Providing initial offers of convertible virtual assets and/or related services.
A virtual asset is defined as a digital expression of the value that is fungible and non-unique, digitally transferable or tradable, and used for investment and/or payments. Virtual Assets don't include digital representations of cash, securities or other financial instruments.