On 17 February 2022, following a public consultation (please see our previous newsflash), the decree of the Ministry of Economy and Finance regulating the business of virtual asset service providers (“VASPs”) in Italy was published in the Italian Official Gazette (the “Decree”).

In order to operate in Italy, VASPs will now need to communicate their business to the “Organismo per la gestione degli elenchi degli Agenti in attività finanziaria e dei Mediatori creditizi” (“OAM”) and enroll in a dedicated section of the register of money exchangers kept by OAM (“OAM Register”). To this end, legal persons must have registered office or, in case of EU entities, a permanent establishment in Italy.

VASPs already operating in Italy will be required to notify OAM within 60 days from the establishment of the OAM Register, which must occur within 90 days from the entry into force of the Decree.

VASPs will also be required to transmit to OAM on a quarterly basis, by the 15th day of the month following the quarter of reference, specific data relating to transactions carried out in Italy.

Next steps

The OAM Register is yet to be established and in the following months OAM will enact the necessary instructions for the communication. The Decree published in the Official Gazette is available here (in Italian only).