Stablecoin issuer / redeemer in Romania

EMTs: Explicitly classified as a form of e-money under MiCA. Issuers must be authorized as a credit institution or an electronic money institution (EMI) under the E-money Directive (2009/110/EC), as transposed into Romanian law.

Specific for EMTs: Issuers must be authorized as a credit institution or an electronic money institution (EMI) under the E-money Directive 2009/110/EC, or seek specific authorization under MiCA.

Issuers must at all times maintain a reserve of assets equal to the nominal value of the EMTs in circulation.

The reserve assets must be held in credit institutions, be fully segregated from the issuer's own assets, and be invested in highly liquid, low-risk instruments.

Funds received in exchange for EMTs must be protected in accordance with the E-money Directive, meaning they must be placed in a separate account in a credit institution or invested in secure, low-risk assets.

The reserve assets must be held in credit institutions, be fully segregated from the issuer's own assets, and be invested in highly liquid, low-risk instruments.

The reserve must be managed prudently, ensuring sufficient liquidity and diversification.

A significant portion of the reserve assets must be held in highly liquid financial instruments, and in separate accounts with credit institutions.

A liquidity management policy is required to ensure the issuer can meet redemption requests.

EMTs: Holders of EMTs have a right to redeem their tokens at any time, at par value, against the fiat currency referenced by the token, from the issuer or the e-money institution/credit institution where the funds are held.

ARTs: Holders of ARTs have a right to redeem their tokens directly with the issuer, at any time, for the assets or value referenced by the token, or for fiat currency, under the terms specified in the white paper.

MiCA does not explicitly "ban" algorithmic stablecoins, but its strict requirements for reserve assets for both ARTs and EMTs effectively make it very difficult for purely algorithmic stablecoins (i.e., those without sufficient backing by actual, stable assets) to operate legally within the EU at scale.

Any crypto-asset claiming to maintain a stable value must demonstrate how it does so through a robust and managed reserve of assets, not solely through algorithmic mechanisms or arbitrage opportunities. If an algorithmic stablecoin cannot meet the ART or EMT reserve requirements, it cannot be issued.

Authorization Process: Involves submitting a comprehensive application covering business plans, governance arrangements, operational resilience, reserve management policies, risk management, and more.

General Requirement: Issuers of ARTs and EMTs must be authorized by a national competent authority in an EU member state. In Romania, this role will likely be shared between:

National Bank of Romania (BNR): Primarily for EMTs (as it supervises EMIs and credit institutions) and ARTs if they significantly impact financial stability.

Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF): Likely for ARTs that might resemble investment products or have characteristics closer to capital markets.

Law No. 129/2019 for the prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as for amending and supplementing certain normative acts (Legea nr. 129/2019 pentru prevenirea și combaterea spălării banilor și finanțării terorismului, precum și pentru modificarea și completarea unor acte normative).

Regulatory Body: The National Office for Prevention and Control of Money Laundering (Oficiul Național de Prevenire și Combatere a Spălării Banilor - ONPCSB) is the authority responsible for registering and supervising VASPs.

Requirement: Providers of exchange services between virtual currencies and fiat currencies, and custodian wallet providers, must register with the ONPCSB.

Registration Process: Applicants must provide information about their identity, legal form, operational details, internal AML/CFT procedures, risk assessment, and demonstrate that management and beneficial owners are fit and proper.

Exchange between virtual assets and fiat currencies.

Custody and/or administration of virtual assets or instruments enabling control over virtual assets.

DIICOT (Direcția de Investigare a Infracțiunilor de Criminalitate Organizată și Terorism - Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism)

Regulator/Enforcement Agency: ANAF (Agenția Națională de Administrare Fiscală - National Agency for Fiscal Administration)