Crypto Overview in Romania

Regulatory data is for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal developments. Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions.

Legal Classification and Regulatory Framework

Cryptocurrency Status

Cryptocurrencies are legal in Romania but do not hold legal tender status. Under Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) 10/2025, which took effect in March 2025, crypto-assets are defined as digital representations of value or rights that can be transferred and stored electronically via distributed ledger technology. They are treated as intangible movable property rather than financial instruments, unless they satisfy specific criteria such as tokenized securities.

Romania’s Criminal Code classifies digital currencies as means of payment without cash, a category introduced in 2019 following the transposition of EU Directive 2019/713 on combating fraud involving non-cash payment instruments. Under MiCA, crypto-assets in Romania fall into the regulation’s three standard categories: asset-referenced tokens (ARTs), e-money tokens (EMTs), and other crypto-assets. Direct crypto payments between parties are permissible by mutual agreement, though most merchant adoption relies on third-party conversion services to Romanian lei (RON).

Tax Treatment

Romania’s crypto tax framework has undergone substantial changes in recent years. Crypto gains are classified as income from other sources under Article 116 of the Fiscal Code (Law 227/2015) rather than as traditional capital gains. For income earned during 2025 and declared by 25 May 2026, the applicable rate is 10%. From 1 January 2026, the rate increases to 16% under Law 239/2025, published in the Official Journal in December 2025.

A de minimis threshold applies: gains from a single transaction below 200 RON are not taxable unless total annual crypto earnings exceed 600 RON. The Social Health Insurance Contribution (CASS) of 10% may also apply when total annual non-salary income, including crypto, exceeds six times the gross minimum wage (approximately RON 24,300 for 2025), with higher tiers at 12 and 24 times the minimum wage. All crypto earnings must be declared via the Single Tax Return (Declaratia unica) filed with the National Agency for Tax Administration (Agentia Nationala de Administrare Fiscala, ANAF) by 25 May of the following year. Corporate tax on crypto profits follows the standard 16% rate. From 2026, crypto platforms operating in Romania must report annual transaction data to ANAF under the DAC8 directive, with first reports covering 2026 and submitted in 2027.

Regulatory Oversight

Romania operates a multi-authority supervisory structure for crypto-assets, substantially restructured by GEO 10/2025. The Financial Supervisory Authority (Autoritatea de Supraveghere Financiara, ASF) serves as the primary national competent authority under MiCA, responsible for licensing and supervising crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), including exchanges, custodians, trading platforms, and ATM operators. The ASF is Romania’s single point of contact with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

The National Bank of Romania (Banca Nationala a Romaniei, BNR) retains exclusive supervisory jurisdiction over asset-referenced tokens, e-money tokens, and any crypto services provided by credit institutions under its oversight. BNR is Romania’s counterpart to the European Banking Authority (EBA). Additional regulatory bodies include ANAF for tax compliance; ONPCSB as the Financial Intelligence Unit; and the Authority for the Digitalization of Romania (Autoritatea pentru Digitalizarea Romaniei, ADR), which conducts mandatory technical security evaluations of IT systems before ASF reviews any licence application. Licensed CASPs must pay a supervisory fee of 0.5% of monthly operating income to ASF by the 15th of the following month; failure to pay on time can result in automatic licence revocation.

Business Environment

Banking Relationships

Access to banking services for crypto businesses in Romania has historically been difficult. Traditional banks treated cryptocurrency operations as high-risk, reflecting a broader European pattern. Structured cooperation between CASPs and financial institutions is beginning to emerge following the regulatory clarity introduced by MiCA and GEO 10/2025, which reclassifies CASPs as financial institutions under Law 129/2019 and gives banks a clearer framework for engaging with licensed crypto operators. The BNR acknowledges that crypto-assets do not currently represent a threat to financial stability in Romania, though it characterises them as speculative and volatile.

Innovation Support

Romania has invested in blockchain infrastructure through several government-backed initiatives. The National Blockchain Network, led by ICI Bucharest (National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics), has been under development since 2018 to support blockchain implementation across state institutions and industry. In April 2023, ICI Bucharest launched ICI D|SERVICES, described as the first European institutional digital asset trading platform, built on the MultiversX blockchain network. Romania also participates in the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) through the EBSI4RO project.

Both the BNR and ASF operate FinTech Innovation Hubs to facilitate dialogue between innovators and regulators, though neither constitutes a formal regulatory sandbox with temporary licence exemptions. Romania hosts the annual Romania Blockchain Summit, one of the larger blockchain events in Eastern Europe.

Crypto License in Romania

Romania’s MiCA-aligned licensing regime under GEO 10/2025 replaced the previous VASP authorisation requirement that had been established under Article 301 of Law 129/2019. All crypto-asset service providers operating in Romania must now obtain ASF authorisation under MiCA. The framework is structured around a three-step process involving ADR technical clearance, capital adequacy confirmation, and a formal ASF application review. Romania has been recognised by legal practitioners as offering one of the EU’s faster and more accessible licensing pathways under MiCA.

Licensing Requirements

Under GEO 10/2025, any entity seeking to operate as a CASP in Romania must first obtain a technical security evaluation from ADR covering cybersecurity systems, resilience testing, and data-centre configuration. Applicants must also maintain clean tax and criminal records, update corporate registration to include crypto services, and demonstrate AML programme compliance under Law 129/2019. MiCA minimum capital requirements apply: EUR 50,000 for advisory or order-reception services, EUR 125,000 for custody and exchange operations, and EUR 150,000 for the operation of trading platforms. Entities authorised in another EU member state may passport into Romania under MiCA passporting rules but must designate a local single point of contact for communication with Romanian authorities.

Authorised Activities

ASF-licensed CASPs in Romania may provide the full range of crypto-asset services defined under MiCA, including custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients, operation of trading platforms, exchange of crypto-assets for fiat currency, exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets, execution and reception of orders, placement of crypto-assets, and transfer services. Operation of crypto ATM terminals is subject to separate prior authorisation from ASF, with two technical approvals required: one for the physical ATM model issued by ICI Bucharest and one for the IT system issued by ADR. The BNR retains sole authority over issuers of ARTs and EMTs and over credit institutions providing crypto services.

Application Process and Timeline

The formal application process involves submitting a complete dossier to ASF following ADR technical clearance. Practitioners estimate a review period of three to four months for a standard CASP application. Transitional arrangements apply for entities that were lawfully registered in Romania before 30 December 2024: they may continue operating under a grandfathering window until 1 July 2026, provided they notify ASF by 30 November 2025 of their intent to continue and submit a formal MiCA licence application between December 2025 and July 2026. After 1 July 2026, only fully MiCA-authorised CASPs may operate. ASF is still finalising detailed procedural regulations, meaning some application requirements continue to evolve as implementing guidance is published.

Market Characteristics

Adoption Patterns

Romania’s crypto market is growing but remains relatively small in formal terms. The ONPCSB’s 2024 sectoral risk assessment on VASP activity revealed that only 36 VASP activity notifications were received between 2021 and 2024, with just 12 of 31 responding entities confirming actual VASP-specific activities. A 2022 National Risk Assessment identified five to six active VASP entities in Romania. Consumer interest is stronger than formal registration numbers suggest: the temporary tax exemption on crypto gains introduced for November 2024 through July 2025 reflected political recognition of cryptocurrency’s growing popularity among Romanian retail investors.

Industry Focus

Romania has a notable technical talent base contributing to the global blockchain ecosystem. The country was home to the founding team of MultiversX (formerly Elrond), a sharding-based layer-1 blockchain founded in Sibiu and one of the prominent European blockchain platforms. Bucharest serves as a hub for blockchain development talent, and institutional interest is growing alongside the government’s national blockchain infrastructure initiatives. Early domestic operators such as Bitcoin Romania operated in the exchange space; CoinFlux, another early Romanian exchange, is no longer operating. Romania’s early MiCA implementation has led practitioners to characterise it as one of the EU’s more accessible environments for licensed CASPs seeking EU market entry.

Regulatory Evolution

Romania’s regulatory trajectory follows a pattern of delayed but ultimately comprehensive legislative action. The country was formally notified by the European Commission in 2020 for failing to transpose the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive on time, achieving full AML alignment only through GEO 10/2025 in March 2025. In contrast, Romania moved quickly on MiCA, with GEO 10/2025 recognised as one of the fastest national transpositions in the EU.

Romania’s AML/CFT compliance posture remains under scrutiny. The MONEYVAL June 2025 follow-up report found limited progress since the May 2023 Mutual Evaluation, with Romania compliant on only 7 of the 40 FATF recommendations and partially compliant on 15 others. The country remains in enhanced follow-up. In response, the government drafted a National AML/CFT Strategy 2025-2030 in July 2025, specifically identifying VASPs as a high-risk sector, and Parliament is debating Project L15/2025 to address outstanding MONEYVAL findings. EU Regulation 2023/1113 (travel rule) national measures entered into force in March 2025. DAC8-based platform reporting to ANAF begins covering tax year 2026.