ICO Guidelines – good news for startups

VILNIUS - Lithuania is among the first EU countries that has developed the detailed guidelines to secure more transparent activities of the initial coin offering (ICO) projects. This will help to attract foreign investments and to create a favorable and more secure environment for fintechand blockchainbusiness in Lithuania.

“ICO market has not been regulated yet. It has huge potential but there are risks, that we must manage. We should make our efforts for Lithuania to become the main headquarters for those ICO project promoters which are willing to operate in a transparent and orderly legal environment”, said Minister of Finance Vilius Šapoka.

The ICO Guidelines gives investors and entrepreneurs a detailed description on how this innovative business could  operate in Lithuania – starting from regulation of ICO projects to corporate and indirect taxation and accounting.

ICO and blockchain projects have been developed by the Lithuanians worldwide since 2017 attracted more than EUR 400 million. It takes up to 10 % of total world market.

The ICO Guidelines have been prepared by the experts of the Ministry of Finance in close cooperation  with  the colleagues from the Bank of Lithuania, State Tax Inspectorate, Authority of Audit, Accounting, Property Valuation and Insolvency Management as well as the Financial Crime Investigation Service.

ICO is a fast-growing business financing alternative when funds are attracted by issuing virtual tokens.