According to Coindesk, the “Digital Asset Law” officially went into effect Tuesday following its publication in the official gazette, and will be applied six months from now.
The digital asset service providers in Serbia can operate after “obtaining permission from the supervisory authority.” The country’s Securities Commission and the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) are tasked with supervision and applying the law.
Serbia was not always friendly towards crypto. In 2014, the NBS announced that bitcoin was not legal tender in the country.
With the new rules, digital assets can be issued in Serbia with or without an approved white paper, although an asset with an unapproved white paper cannot be advertised in the country and there are limitations on the amount of such assets that can be distributed.
According to the new law, when it comes to trading, digital asset exchanges will need licenses to operate. Secondary trading of digital assets issued in Serbia, over-the-counter (OTC) trading and use of smart contracts in secondary trading are also allowed.
Nevertheless, financial institutions under the supervision of the NSB are still prohibited from engaging with digital assets except in keeping cryptographic keys. They cannot convert their assets to virtual currencies or “instruments associated with digital assets,” provide services related to digital assets or participate in businesses offering such services.
Digital asset service providers are obliged to request for permission from a supervisory body within the six months before the law is implemented.
