Crypto Academy experts are publicly asking questions to the NRA regarding illegally admitted registrations of crypto companies in the public register. The situation raises a number of questions, which are as follows:
How were registrations of crypto companies allowed in the electronic public register of the NRA after December 30, 2024? What are the consequences of these registrations, which are contrary to European legal norms, and what protection do the clients of illegally registered crypto companies have? Are the transactions concluded between illegal crypto companies and their clients void and what are the tax effects of these transactions? For example, we bought Bitcoin from a crypto company that is illegally registered with the NRA. Do we owe the return of our Bitcoin to the illegally operating crypto company and if so – at what price? Is the illegally registered crypto company obliged to buy it back from us and if so - at what price? Do we owe taxes on the concluded void transactions? And will the expenses incurred in the course of these transactions be recognized by the tax authorities for tax purposes?
Will a license for a crypto asset service provider issued by the Financial Supervision Commission “cure“ the vices of the illegal registration? Are claims for damages possible from companies established in other Member States that did not operate after December 30, 2024, because they acted lawfully and waited to receive a MiKA license, while their illegally registered Bulgarian competitors concluded transactions in Bulgaria and beyond?
The Crypto Academy team believes that institutions with a role and authority in the regulation of crypto assets should respond to these questions and thus reduce the harmful consequences of illegal registrations. As experts in crypto regulations, crypto taxes and crypto measures against money laundering, they are ready to participate in a constructive dialogue with representatives of the NRA and the National Assembly. The goal is to reduce the damage caused by the incident, protect the interests of clients of illegally registered companies, increase public awareness of these problems, and consequently, trust in the sector and responsible institutions, as well as find an opportunity for companies registered illegally, which cannot be attributed to their fault, to carry out activities, but in compliance with applicable legal norms.
The new law on crypto-asset markets was published in the "State Gazette" in the summer. It introduces a licensing regime for crypto-companies into Bulgarian legislation. According to it, crypto-companies that have operated in contradiction with the European regulation on crypto-assets (MiCA) are not entitled to obtain a license.
The "Crypto Academy" team believes that the law contradicts the European regulation and creates complete chaos on the market in Bulgaria.
Crypto companies registered in our country after December 30, 2024 are operating in violation of the MiCA regulation, which is in force for all EU member states as of that date. MiCA prohibits crypto companies that are not registered with the National Revenue Agency by December 30, 2024, from operating without a MiCA license, announced lawyer Desislava Spasova, co-founder of "Crypto Academy", a lawyer and specialist in commercial law and the European and Bulgarian legal frameworks regulating activities related to crypto assets. In this sense, there is also an opinion of the European Securities and Markets Authority, according to which crypto companies registered after December 30, 2024 are not allowed to offer their services until they receive a MiCA license.
The consequences are serious, because there are illegally operating crypto companies on the market, Spasova said. This means that all transactions concluded by them are null and void. In other words, crypto companies must return the funds received from their clients, and clients must return to them the cryptocurrencies they purchased.
The problem with the nullity of transactions is also related to the question of whether taxes are due on them, said Marina Muchakova, co-founder of the Crypto Academy and an expert on the subject of taxation of crypto assets. According to her, there should be an opinion of the National Revenue Agency on the subject.
Next, the registration of crypto companies with the NRA after December 30, 2024 raises the issue of the extent to which these actions of the state have led to the creation of conditions for unfair competition, said Nikolay Hadzhiyski, co-founder of the "Crypto Academy" and a lawyer specializing in the legal aspects of crypto assets and measures to prevent money laundering. For example, a crypto company established on February 1, 2025, or in other words, after the registration procedure with the NRA should have been "closed," had to wait until the adoption and promulgation of the law on crypto asset markets in order to apply for a MiCA license and thus operate legally. In the other case, a crypto company registered with the National Revenue Agency on February 1, 2025, operated in direct violation of the MiCA regulation, thus concluding void transactions and taking market share from crypto companies that decided to comply with the law, emphasized Hadzhiyski.
The current problem also raises the issue of the reputation of the crypto sector. Allowing illegal companies to enter the market certainly does not contribute to building a good name for the crypto sector and trust in crypto companies. Last but not least, it should be noted that the issue of “fair versus unfair competition” has not only a national dimension, but also one at the European Union level, as the MiCA regulation has put all crypto companies in the EU on hold.
The Crypto Academy team categorically declares itself in favor of legality, legal order, protection of the rights of crypto companies' clients, fair competition and the good name of the crypto sector in full compliance with the MiCA regulation.