FACE: Defending the Crypto Economy in Portugal is a priority of the new federation that brings together Web 3.0 associations
The localization news in Portugal of companies and professionals linked to the crypto economy succeed each other and The numbers shared by Chainalysis indicate that Portugal represents the eighth largest Crypto Economy in Western Europe and the sixth in the European Union. The potential of the ecosystem is recognized but the regulatory predictability, in which there are several initiatives in progress, has made it three Portuguese Web 3.0 associations decided to join federation exercises, FACE – acronym for the Federation of Crypto Economy Associations.
In an interview with SAPO TEK, the representatives of the associations explained the reasons that led to the creation of the Federation, keeping in parallel the activity of the associations – the Aliança Portuguesa de Blockchain, Associação Portuguesa de Blockchain e Cryptocurreadas (APBC) and Instituto New Economy. As the development by FACE not to block the development of an ecosystem is growing and as they want to be a vehicle for dialogue, they were also topics of a conversation where they wanted to dismantle some myths regarding the sector.
“We want to actively participate in the construction of the new diplomas and contribute with feedback in a more unified way. Communication will not be so easy if the industry proves to be fragmented”, he underlined Ricardo Filipe, Vice President of the Portuguese Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Association (APBC)during a joint interview.
Hugo Volz Oliveira, Secretary of the New Economy Institute, underlined that the ecosystem is in third position in comparison with other European countries, behind the Netherlands and the third position that Portugal is in 8th in Europe but which is in per capita data from the Netherlands and Switzerland in the third position. The indicator is positive but there is a risk of losing ground due to excessive bureaucracy and an unclear and predictable tax regime that can alienate professionals and companies located in Portugal.
“Web 3.0 is an engine for economic development”, recalls José Reis Santos, Vice President of the Portuguese Blockchain Alliance (ALL2BC), who advocate breaking out of the litany of price competition. “There are digital emadas coming to Portugal because this is the digital one to develop and maintain an approach to the community and a node of developing companies”.
There is no concrete data and survey on the number of professional indicators in this area Portugal, nor of companies located in the national territory, and this is a mapping that is working on a FACE wants to do, but it is also an ecosystem that all show growth.
Clarity, fairness and fairness in the regulatory framework
The regulatory and fiscal framework is one of FACE’s major concerns, at a time when prepares the finalization of the MICA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) directive and consequent transposition to internal regularization by 2024. “We are finishing the study with the authorities that will summarize our position”, explains Hugo Volz Oliveira, adding that the vision is to create a clear tax regime, defended by an entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“The problem is not paying taxes, it is guaranteed that they are fair and competitive, and clear, without creating fear of being retroactive”, explains Hugo Volz Oliveira.
“We are finishing the study with the authorities that we have resumed the position”, he also tells SAPO TEK.
For the secretary of the New Economy Institute the idea that lack of functioning in Portugal was the cryptoeconomy for the wrong mistake. “In the beginning, there may be a lure to bring digital nomads, but the entire framework for promoting entrepreneurship and startups contributed to the development of the cryptoeconomy”, he says, although all the delay in the regulatory framework has improved the ecosystem.
“In taxation the IRC is clear […] one lack of predictability affecting Portugal compared to other locations [como os Estados Unidos ou Singapura] what incentives for a talented talent”, and the associated difficulty that “the uncertainty tax regime are critical by many organizations”.
The possibility of being an interlocutor for a permanent dialogue with the Government and legislators is one of the goals of the federation, which wants to serve as an interface, helping to build solutions in a collaborative way, explains José Reis Santos. “It makes perfect sense that we present ourselves to institutions with a face that is a point of dialogue “, he says. Before the preparations, a survey was prepared on the way in which various partisan forces approached a factor of national development.
Literature is also a key point. “We want to link to the ecosystem and empower public, central and local institutions. ANDunderstands that it is a very new sector and evolving very quickly and it is normal that the legislator needs to know what the ecosystem is doing”, says the Vice President of the Portuguese Blockchain Alliance (ALL2BC).
For now, FACE is preparing a document with a joint vision that it wants to work with the Government and the authorities, and also an ecosystem mapping with Portugal, gathering data from companies and professionals working on blockchain, cryptocurrencies and digital assets. There is also a conference month initiatives and conferences initiative that can bring change to an industry that is marked in series even further.