Greece’s central bank has adopted a new framework for cryptocurrencies, bringing its supervisory approach into line with guidelines issued by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and adding greater clarity to how digital assets will be regulated across the country’s financial sector.
The rules, published this week in the government gazette, establish when a crypto asset should be treated as a financial instrument under European law—placing it in the same regulatory category as shares, bonds or other investment products.
For retail investors and ordinary cryptocurrency holders, little changes in practice. The new framework is primarily aimed at banks, payment institutions and companies operating in the digital-asset market, requiring them to apply common standards when assessing and supervising crypto products.
ΔΙΑΒΑΣΤΕ ΕΠΙΣΗΣ
The key principle is that regulators will no longer focus solely on whether an asset is labeled a cryptocurrency, but on the rights it grants its holder. A token that functions like a share or a bond and confers comparable economic rights will be subject to the same rules that govern traditional financial instruments.
The Bank of Greece’s decision also provides more detailed guidance on the treatment of specific categories of digital assets, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), utility tokens and crypto-based derivatives, as part of a broader effort to ensure the consistent application of European regulations in the Greek market.
Under the new guidance, NFTs—which are unique and non-interchangeable by nature—will generally not be regarded as financial instruments. However, an NFT that exhibits characteristics similar to equity, debt securities or other investment products and grants comparable financial rights will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The rules also clarify the treatment of utility tokens, which are typically used to provide access to products or services, such as participation in digital platforms or discounts on transactions. Such tokens will not be classified as securities if their primary purpose is functional rather than investment-related and they do not provide rights such as dividends or interest payments. The fact that a token may appreciate in value in secondary markets, regulators said, is not sufficient on its own to bring it within the scope of financial-instrument regulation.
Particular attention is given to crypto-based derivatives. The new guidance states that a digital asset deriving its value from another underlying asset—whether another cryptocurrency, a stock, a bond, an equity index or even a commodity—and operating in a manner similar to futures, options or swaps may be classified as a derivative and subject to the corresponding regulatory regime.
The guidance explicitly includes perpetual futures, the open-ended derivative contracts widely traded in cryptocurrency markets, confirming that they too should be treated as financial derivatives under the applicable European framework.
