Bulgaria adopts Markets in Crypto-Assets Act

On 20 June 2025, the Bulgarian parliament adopted the Markets in Crypto-Assets Act, aligning local legislation with the legal regime stipulated in the EU MiCA Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on Markets in Crypto-Assets). The act will enter into force three days after its promulgation in the State Gazette, which is expected this week.

While MiCA is applicable in Bulgaria without the need of transposition, the new Bulgarian Markets in Crypto-Assets Act ensures its proper implementation on the national level by designating national competent authorities, specifying administrative procedures and introducing sanctions.

Specifically, the designation of the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) as a national competent authority means that entities established in Bulgaria can obtain an EU-wide licence as a crypto-asset service provider by submitting an application to the FSC. The regulator has not been vocal about its licensing powers under the newly adopted act, but the recently issued Ordinance on the fees collected by the FSC specifying the fees for crypto-asset service provider licensing signals the authority’s readiness to begin processing applications in the near future. The fees differ depending on the specific class of licence sought:

• Class 1 licence for crypto services on execution and transmission of orders, placing of crypto-assets, crypto advice and providing portfolio management: EUR 5,000;
• Class 2 licence for custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients, exchanging crypto-assets for funds and/or exchanging crypto-assets for other crypto-assets: EUR 10,000; and
• Class 3 licence for operation of a crypto exchange: EUR 30,000.

The FSC also announced that it will apply several of the guidelines issued by the European Securities and Markets Authority (‘ESMA’) in its crypto-related practice (i.e. relating to reverse solicitation, transfer services for crypto-assets), and the guidelines on templates for explanations and opinions, and the standardised test for crypto-assets, jointly issued by ESMA, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority and the European Banking Authority.

In addition to licensing duties, the FSC will supervise issuers of asset-referenced tokens, issuers of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens and the activities of crypto-asset service providers. Additionally, the Bulgarian National Bank (‘BNB’) will oversee issuers of e-money tokens, which are credit institutions or electronic money institutions.

Grandfathering period

Another key point of the Bulgarian implementing act is the grandfathering period (i.e. the transitional period for entities registered as “virtual asset” service providers with the registry of the National Revenue Agency to apply for MiCA licences or suspend activity). In Bulgaria, this transition period was extended with the last round of amendments to the bill and will expire on 1 July 2026.

Companies opting to register under the old regime during the period from the first publication of the bill until its final adoption must apply for a MiCA licence within three months.

Sanctions

The Bulgarian Markets in Crypto-Assets Act specifies the minimum and maximum sanction amounts that would be imposed for non-compliance with MiCA. For more serious and/or repeated breaches, sanctions may reach up to EUR 15 million or 15% of the relevant person's annual turnover (whichever is higher).

In addition to its powers to suspend licences and impose fines, the FSC will have extensive control powers for the purpose of protecting consumers and preventing breaches, including the power to block access to certain websites, restrict social media profiles, block domains and even order the taking down of mobile applications.

Future developments

The FSC is expected to begin processing licence requests shortly after the promulgation of the Bulgarian Markets in Crypto-Assets Act, which should provide further clarity on the regulator’s strategy towards crypto-asset service providers and whether Bulgaria will join the list of EU jurisdictions with more liberal licensing regimes.

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Christian Milev contributed to this article.