Following the issuance of the decree of January 13, 2022 by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (“Decree”), the Italian Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (“OAM”) issued a circular on April 21, 2022 (“Circular”) . The Circular contains details on:

• Specific procedures to be followed by providers of cryptocurrency exchange, cryptocurrency trading, digital wallet and, in general, any service related to virtual currency (“Providers”) to register in the special section of the registry kept by the OAM (“Registry “) ; Y
• Fees and other amounts owed by Providers.

The Circular, which follows the rules already provided by the Decree, reinforces that registration in the special section of the Registry is a mandatory condition for Suppliers to legally carry out their activities in Italy. In addition, the Circular prescribes that any Provider interested in registering in the special section of the Registry must: (i) have a valid email address certified in Italy (certified email); (ii) timely registration on the OAM web portal; and (iii) follow the instructions indicated in the special operating guide published on the OAM website (“Operating Guide”).

In accordance with the Circular and the Decree, the Registry will become operational on May 16, 2022, with a grandfathering period of 60 days for Suppliers already active in Italy. As of that date, Suppliers must register with the Registry to conduct business in Italy and, consequently, implement ad hoc policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the new Italian legal framework.

According to the Circular, Providers must pay a single fee (€8,300 for companies and €500 for individuals). In addition, Providers must pay a variable annual fee, the amount of which depends on the number of clients of each Provider (OAM is likely to issue a separate communication on this subject).

To comply with the reporting obligations, Suppliers must use a specific online service as detailed in the Operational Guide. All data transmitted by Suppliers will be kept in the OAM database for 10 years, guaranteeing adequate data retention, security and recovery.