Cyprus is well prepared for the new EU crypto assets regulation, ushering in a new era on January 1, 2025, the Cyprus Securities Commission assured President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday.
Presenting CySec’s report for 2023, chairman George Theocharides said there was “a healthy growth in the securities sector” and outlined a series of challenges ahead.
Theocharides said there were a few important directives and regulations to prepare for, including the crypto assets regulation set to come into force on January 1.
“Already, over the past years, CySec has been preparing for this very important EU regulation,” Theocharides added.
“Some very big companies are interested in setting up their headquarters in Cyprus. This is certainly a challenge for us, but I believe we are ready for this.”
Referring to the investments chapter, Theocharides said there were over 300 companies in Cyprus registered with CySec, who were either investment funds or administrators of funds.
“We have about €10 billion in assets in this sector, of which €2.6 billion are investments in Cyprus’ economy. They are investments in various projects, various entities, various companies in the Cyprus economy. This is an alternative form of funding that the Cyprus economy needs,” he said.
Christodoulides praised CySec for its work and said more was coming.
“For us, the supervisory mechanisms are directly intertwined with the great effort we are making to strengthen the economy and competitiveness of our country, but also within the context of the rebranding we have already begun,” he said.
He added that “for this reason we will be giving you more authorities” to be able to rise to the new challenges.
“This was a proposal made in 2013” after the financial crisis, the president said.
Christodoulides said Cyprus’ reputation was linked to the economy’s competitiveness, adding that the government was approaching CySec as a partner in the common goal to strengthen the economy and enhance social intervention in education, health and welfare.
Christodoulides and Theocharides discussed the promotion and improvement of financial literacy, which was being taught in schools with the aim of protecting the general public and society in general.
