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Estonia
Cryptocurrency information about Estonia
How many crypto owners in Estonia?
It is estimated that over 32 thousand people, 2.41% of Estonia’s total population, currently own cryptocurrency.(1)
What is the nature of Crypto like in Estonia?
Cryptocurrency regulations in Estonia are open and innovative, especially in comparison to other EU member-states. Although not accepted as legal tender, Estonia’s government regards cryptocurrencies as “value represented in digital form”: accordingly, it classifies cryptocurrencies as digital assets for tax purposes but does not subject them to VAT. In 2017, the Anti Money Laundering and Terrorism Finance Act introduced robust new regulations for crypto businesses operating in Estonia.
number of crypto initiatives with potentially significant regulatory consequences have been mooted in Estonia, including a speculative government plan to introduce a national cryptocurrency known as “estcoin”. After EU criticism, Estonia’s government stepped back from the plan but continues to examine ways to use the estcoin within a government “e-residency” program. Advancing its 2020 objectives, the Estonian Government Anti-Money Laundering Commission stated that it would focus on cryptocurrency oversight in 2021 with “a number of important regulatory changes” planned for the future, including enhancements to customer identification obligations, payments services, and record keeping.(2)
Crypto’s rising popularity in Estonia
- Intrado: Licensed Crypto Exchange “UnitEx” Launches In Estonia – March 2021
Crypto exchange “UnitEx” was launched in Estonia, one of the leading European countries in developing the cryptocurrency market. The trading platform is registered according to the regulations in Estonia and has obtained a Virtual Currency Service Provider license by the National Financial Intelligence Unit RAB. The license covers exchange operation of crypto-fiat and crypto-crypto, as well as cryptocurrency wallet management. The “UnitEx” trading platform listed the most liquid digital coins, such as bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH) and EOS. Also, it listed the tokens of the Cryptounit blockchain: backed stablecoin USDU, utility token UNTB and token CRU that can be traded in pairs with USDU, BTC, ETH и EOS. Users also can purchase stablecoins USDU for fiat – US dollars and euro. - Cointelegraph: Estonian central bank to conduct digital currency research – October 2020
The Estonian central bank, Eesti Pank, announced the launch of a research program to study how to build a digital currency infrastructure. According to a statement, Eesti Pank partnered with technology companies SW7 Group and Guardtime for the research project. It aims to see if a keyless signature infrastructure (KSI) blockchain solution can run its virtual currency program. Estonia already uses KSI blockchain technology for its e-government services. The bank’s project will also look into new payment solutions “that can be made possible by using electronic IDs and other Estonian e-government solutions.” - Coindesk: Estonia Inches Closer to National ‘Crypto Token’ Launch – December 2017
In a blog post published today, Kaspar Korjus, managing director of the country’s e-Residency initiative, set out three possible use cases for the token – dubbed “estcoin” – that have been arrived at since the concept was first aired in August. As Korjus noted in his blog post, the concept quickly went viral as speculation swirled that Estonia might become the first country with its own dedicated digital currency. And while the e-Residency program isn’t yet launching the token, Korjus laid out some of the conceptual groundwork in the new blog post, noting the different ways in which the cryptocurrency might be used – as well as how the e-Residency program could serve as a basis for how initial coin offerings within the Baltic nation could be conducted.
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