The Ministry of Economy has opened a prior public consultation to modify the Regulations of the Law for the prevention of money laundering adn terrorist financing, in force since 2014, with the aim of adapting the Spanish regulatory framework to new risks, technological advances and international demands, especially in a context marked by the emergence of crypto assets and the update of the European anti-money laundering legislative package.
The initiative, driven by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, seeks to update a regulation that has accumulated more than ten years of submission and which, according to the department itself, needs to be adjusted both to the evolution of money laundering and terrorist financing typologies and to the practical experience acquired by the obliged parties and the supervisory authorities. The Executive considers that these modifications are necessary to preserve the effectiveness of the Spanish prevention system, which will also be subject to a mutual evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force in 2026.
Among the central axes of the reform is the partial adaptation of the so-called European anti-money laundering package, approved in May 2024. Although the main transposition will be carried out through a standard with the rank of law that is being processed in parallel, the Government intends to anticipate through regulations some adjustments considered minor but urgent, to keep the Spanish framework aligned with the new Community obligations and reinforce aspects such as statistics, national risk analysis and institutional governance and cooperation mechanisms.
This project aims to regulate certain issues related to the emergence of new activities and threats, including those arising in the field of crypto assets. It also aims to undertake certain adjustments to ensure the correct implementation of the GAFI standards, especially those relating to regulation.
The Ministry of Economy is preparing to include crypto assets within the scope of the law against money laundering and financing of terrorism (LPBLFYT) through the reform it is indeed preparing. This measure, which is part of the commitment assumed by Spain with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), aims to regulate the sector and prevent its use for illicit activities.
The first draft of the reform, to which elEconomista has had access, introduces a new article 36 bis in the LPBLFYT, which defines “virtual assets” as “digital representation of value that is not issued by a central bank or public authority, is not legal tender, but is accepted as a means of exchange and can be transferred, stored and traded electronically.”
This definition encompasses cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, and also other types of digital assets that are gaining prominence in the financial markets. The reform establishes that the subjects obliged by the LPBLFYT – such as banks, financial institutions and notaries – will have to apply due diligence measures to operations involving virtual assets.
Specifically, these measures include identifying and verifying the identity of the customers who carry out transactions with crypto assets, as well as monitoring the operations to detect any suspicious activity. The reform also establishes that the Bank of Spain will be the competent authority to supervise compliance with the LPBLFYT by the entities that operate with virtual assets.
The inclusion of crypto assets in the LPBLFYT is a step forward in the regulation of this sector in spain.Currently,the legal framework for crypto assets is limited to a circular issued by the Bank of Spain in 2014,which establishes the requirements that virtual currency exchange service providers must meet to operate legally in the country.
however, this circular is not sufficient to address the risks associated with crypto assets, such as money laundering, terrorist financing and investor protection. The reform of the LPBLFYT aims to fill this gap and provide a more thorough and effective regulatory framework for the sector.
The reform is currently in a public consultation phase,and is expected to be approved by the Council of Ministers in the coming weeks. once approved, it will be submitted to Parliament for debate and approval.
The Spanish government is scrutinizing crypto assets as part of its reform of the law against money laundering. The Ministry of Economy, led by carlos Cuerpo, is preparing to implement the requirements of the european Union’s regulations on the transfer of funds and the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT). This includes extending the scope of the regulations to include crypto asset service providers (CASPs).
Currently, CASPs are not subject to the same level of scrutiny as customary financial institutions. However, the new EU regulations will require them to register with a supervisory authority, implement due diligence measures, and report suspicious transactions. This will help to prevent the use of crypto assets for illicit purposes.
The reform also aims to align Spanish legislation with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task force (FATF), an international body that sets standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The FATF has identified crypto assets as a high-risk area and has called for greater regulation.
The Ministry of Economy is expected to present the draft reform to Parliament in the coming weeks. The reform is highly likely to be debated and amended before it is indeed finally approved. though, it is indeed clear that the government is committed to regulating crypto assets in order to protect the financial system and prevent crime.
the move comes as the use of crypto assets continues to grow in Spain. According to a recent report by the Bank of Spain, the number of crypto asset users in the country has increased substantially in recent years. This has raised concerns about the potential for money laundering and terrorist financing.
The government’s reform is expected to have a notable impact on the crypto asset industry in Spain. CASPs will need to invest in compliance measures in order to meet the new requirements. This could lead to consolidation in the industry, as smaller players may not be able to afford the costs of compliance.
Okay, I will analyze the provided HTML snippet and perform the requested adversarial research and entity-based geo optimization, adhering strictly to the given constraints.
PHASE 1: ADVERSARIAL RESEARCH,FRESHNESS & BREAKING-NEWS CHECK
the HTML snippet appears to be a portion of a webpage displaying a social media post (likely Twitter/X) and a comment section. The content itself is not directly visible within the snippet, only the surrounding HTML structure and a comment button.Thus, direct factual verification of the content of the post is impractical without the actual post text. Though, I can verify the functionality of the elements and the presence of the Twitter widget.
* Twitter Widget: the <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> tag indicates an attempt to embed a Twitter widget. As of January 20, 2026, 09:58:47, Twitter/X is still operational, though it has undergone significant changes in ownership and policy as its acquisition by Elon Musk. the widget should function if the surrounding HTML is correctly structured and the post ID is valid.
* Comment Section: The <section class="section-comentarios"> and <button class="comentarios-btn"> suggest a comment section is present, likely implemented with JavaScript.
* SVG Icons: The snippet includes SVG icons for the comment button. These are standard graphical elements and do not require factual verification.
Breaking News Check: Given the nature of social media posts, it’s highly likely any specific content displayed by this snippet would be time-sensitive. Without the post content, a specific breaking news check is impossible. Though, I can state that Twitter/X itself has been subject to frequent news and policy changes.
Latest verified Status: As of January 20, 2026, 09:58:47, Twitter/X is operational, but its policies and features have evolved significantly. the functionality of embedded widgets depends on Twitter/X’s API and embedding policies at that time.
PHASE 2: ENTITY-BASED GEO (GENERATIVE ENGINE OPTIMIZATION)
Since the content of the post is unknown, I will focus on the entities related to the platform and the structure of the snippet.
Primary entity:
*
X Corp. (formerly Twitter, Inc.)
– The company operating the social media platform. (Source: https://www.x.com/)
Related Entities:
*
