The Central Bank of Norway proposed to create its own rules for the crypto industry in addition to the MiCA bill

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Central Bank of Norway(Norges Bank) proposed not to wait for the bill on regulation of cryptocurrencies in the European Union “MiCA” to come into force, but to develop our own rules for their supervision.

Norges Bank has released its annual “Report onFinancial Infrastructure 2023”, a significant part of which is devoted to crypto assets and the question of whether Norway should rely on international regulation of cryptocurrencies. The MiCA bill, which received unanimous support from the EU finance ministers, will come into force only by 2024, so the central bank considers it necessary to begin developing a state strategy for the supervision of cryptocurrencies.

Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Norway PaulPål Longva explained that Norwegian authorities must act quickly rather than wait for international regulatory decisions. MiCA includes enhanced oversight of virtual asset service providers (VASPs), with a focus on crypto market abuse, consumer protection and financial stability, but does not cover decentralized finance (DeFi). Longva is confident that Norges Bank can contribute to the regulation of the industry by specifying legislation for cryptocurrencies that takes into account the systemic risks and enforcement issues specific to cryptoassets.

Longva also noted the risks of cyber attacks,related to payment systems. In this regard, Norges Bank, together with the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority, launched a pilot project to test the cyber resilience of banking and payment systems. The Central Bank recognizes that the payment landscape is constantly evolving: new payment methods and payment service providers are emerging. Therefore, Norges Bank plans to more actively explore the possibility of launching its own digital currency.

The Norwegian Central Bank has been interested in issuing a digital Norwegian krone since 2017. However, only last year the central bank launched a regulatory sandbox to test it.