The Crypto Economy Organisation (CEO), an organisation that brings together businesses operating in the fields of web3, decentralised finance, crypto and the metaverse, has elected a new board and defined new goals in the rapidly changing development and regulatory environment of the crypto economy. Stating that Lithuania remains an attractive country for establishing this business, the organisation intends to seek sustainable growth of the crypto economy market and cooperate with supervisory authorities in creating a rational and progress-promoting legislation.
According to the State Enterprise Centre of Registers, on March 1st of this year, there were 272 virtual asset service providers meeting the requirements of the minimum authorized capital of 125,000 EUR (established by the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing of the Republic of Lithuania) operating in Lithuania.
"This impressive number shows that Lithuania is not only a fintech country but also a Web3 country with an advanced platform for the starting and growing international business. In many cases, fintech and crypto are adjacent or converging industries currently experiencing the same problem of choosing: where to next? We would like Lithuania to remain one of the leading European countries with clear and predictable regulation and understanding of the industry's peculiarities and uniqueness. CEO gathers and invites new industry participants to join the association for dialogue and cooperation, creating a favourable and transparent business environment", states Vytautas Kašėta, the president of the Crypto Economy Organisation.
According to him, the MiCA (Markets in Crypto Assets) Regulation should be adopted in the EU already this spring and it would actually start operating in the member countries in 2024-2025.
"This is a very important set of rules, the implementation and operation of which would not be possible without a civilized dialogue with market participants. Such a dialogue is extremely relevant in Lithuania, which has done more than many other European Union countries to attract crypto and Web3 economy businesses. One would not want the accumulated potential to be wasted. The good news is that the discussion is already underway. At the "Web3: Impact the future" Summit held at the end of last year, we managed to gather stakeholders both from institutions and the market to a round table for a conversation about the forms of cooperation, content and prospects for the development of the sector", added V. Kašėta.
"In some countries of the world, there are various initiatives to limit the activities of virtual asset service providers, to cut them off from the banking sector, or even to ban such activities altogether. Lithuania stands out as an advanced country that favours virtual asset service providers which comply with the requirements of legal acts and views this sector as a continuation of the fintech sector. These are the reasons that encourage world-class businesses to be established in our country. At the same time, this is an incentive for Lithuania to continue consistently improving regulation and its implementation practices. Especially since the EU has set itself the ambition to become a leading continent for digital business and innovation, and to manage the risks specific to the virtual assets’ sector not with prohibitions, but with clear, predictable and unified regulation in all member states. The EU's approach differs from that of the US, which has chosen the path of prohibitions and restrictions. As a result, billions of capital related to the Web3 industry have recently been seen fleeing this country. After making the right decisions, part of these investments could enter the EU and Lithuanian economies. I think that in this area the CEO association can play a significant role as an intermediary between Web3 sector participants operating in Lithuania and representatives of the public sector", noted the Vice President of the Crypto Economy Organisation Gediminas Laucius.
Vytautas Kašėta, co-founder of the innovation company “SUPER HOW?”, was re-elected as the chairman and president of the newly elected CEO board. Gediminas Laucius, the partner of integrated professional business services group “Lewben”, was elected vice president, and Ieva Trinkūnaitė, representing the company “Foxpay”, was also elected vice president. Mindaugas Civilka, partner of the law firm “TGS Baltic”, and Mindaugas Navickas, representing “iSun Lithuania”, became new members of the board. Linas Būtėnas from Vilnius University, Crypto Economy Organisation vice president Andrius Bartminas, representing the company “SUPER HOW?”, Evaldas Bružė from the Lithuanian Cybercrime Competence and Research Center and Dmitrij Radin, representing the company “BlockBank” were re-elected to the board.