Sweden Crypto: Finansinspektionen & Tax #49

Country facts

Sweden crypto score

Trade and store crypto

Finansinspektionen registration, 30% tax, and the Riksbank e-krona project

Mining for crypto continues to be a serious concern for green energy advocates and politicians seeking to appease worldwide opinion. High-value mining destinations like Iceland, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan tend to ignore the green issues – and Iceland has oodles of thermal energy to tap into anyway. Sweden sees things differently, however, as does the European Union, and joining in Sweden’s calls for a ban on crypto mining of some sorts are Germany, Spain, and Norway. Now, with energy at a massive premium due to the Ukraine war, the calls for crypto mining bans seem almost the least countries can do. Swedish financial regulators and the European Commission are specifically keen to restrict or ban the energy-inefficient ‘proof-of-work’ method. All of this controversy, at a time when Genesis Digital Assets, a privately held industrial-scale bitcoin miner has created a mining data centre in Sweden said to be powered by 100% clean energy sources including hydro, nuclear, and wind.

The rise of eKrona

Sweden may have been in pole position when it comes to considering the rollout of a central bank digital currency – or eKrona, but things have quietened on the digital front lately with no new ground being explored in terms of cryptocurrencies. The CBDC isn’t a cryptocurrency, merely an efficient way of using the blockchain concept to perform the role of a central bank-approved issued currency. Sweden has strong all-round scores on our crypto rating, from the numbers of bitcoin nodes and population owning crypto, but mining is a big black cloud on the horizon, Having so much energy consumed by mining does not sit well in Sweden despite its high mining score. Sweden slips on our ranking due to lack of impetus, one way or another,

The Riksbank, like other central banks, has therefore taken the view that crypto-asset is a better name than cryptocurrency. There are also crypto-assets that are not created to act as means of payment. Many crypto-assets use so-called blockchain technology where each transaction is signed and recorded in a “ledger” as a chain of transactions. Often this is done by a network of computers that all have a copy of the ledger (a “distributed ledger”). This makes crypto-assets very difficult or impossible to counterfeit. A CBDC could also be based on this type of technology.

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“Stable coins” is the name of a group of crypto-assets designed to follow the value of another asset type, for example, a national currency such as the US dollar. The issuer will then hold an amount of US dollars in a reserve and issue a proportional amount of stablecoins. One example of a stablecoin is the crypto-asset Diem, which Facebook plans to launch.

The characteristic of a CBDC such as the E-krona is that it is issued and backed by a state/central bank. An E-krona would be issued by the Riksbank and appear on the Riksbank’s balance sheet in the same way as banknotes and coins. The E-krona would also be expressed in Swedish kronor, and not be a new currency of its own. This means that it would be covered by Riksbank’s legal obligation to strive for an inflation target and thereby stable development in the purchasing power of the krona. For crypto-assets, there is no state that has these responsibilities.

Sweden Cryptocurrency Regulation

Many national supervisory authorities, such as Finansinspektionen (in Swedish) in Sweden, have issued warnings about the risks associated with crypto-assets. Most crypto-assets are for example not regulated and therefore lack consumer protection. In September 2020, the European Commission presented a proposal on a new regulation governing crypto-asset trading. If the regulation becomes law, crypto-assets will be regulated within the EU.

Sweden has a positive attitude towards crypto and blockchain technology that runs from the top-down, with an openness to a cashless future and numerous crypto trading and spending facilities.

Crypto financial services in Sweden

Fin services – retirement planning

Most retirement and pension funds worldwide deem cryptocurrencies to be too volatile to become part of long-term retirement schemes. There is little certainty on this at present.

Fin services – banking

Cryptocurrencies are openly discussed and widely understood right from the top down. The government is trialing the possibility of digital Krona and that involves the Swedish Central Bank.

Fin Services – DeFi

Decentralized finance grew rapidly in 2020. The Bank for International Settlements estimated back in 2018 that Sweden is the world’s most cashless society – used as a percentage of gross domestic product. The government is looking to leverage some of DeFi’s advantages, but nothing is clear yet.

How to buy bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in Sweden?

There are a couple of options if you are

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What are the crypto exchanges based in Sweden?

In order of size for Swedish exchanges, Sweden has the following exchanges that are regulated by the Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen):

• Safello (Safello AB)
• BTCx (Goobit AB)
• Trijo (Ijort Invest AB)
• BTCswe (Snowbank AB)

They can also be found here in the registry. Of note is that there is a large gap in trading volume between the top 3 and BTCswe.

What are some local crypto exchanges based in Sweden?

Nordea-owned Scandinavian cryptocurrency exchange, Bitonic.

What are the international crypto exchanges regulated in Sweden?

• Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, registered as Binance Nordics AB
• Bitpanda, the Austrian exchange founded in 2014 by Eric Demuth, Paul Klanschek, and Christian Trummer, registered as Bitpanda GmbH Swedish Filial

What are exchanges that support SEK (Swedish Krona)?

There are several unregulated but large crypto exchanges that support SEK.

• Coinbase, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange that supports Swedish Krona (SEK)
• Kraken, a San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange that supports SEK
• eToro, which offers investment services for stocks and cryptocurrencies, as well as trading CFD

When choosing a cryptocurrency exchange, it’s important to consider factors such as security, fees, user-friendliness, and the range of cryptocurrencies offered. It’s also advisable to do your own research and compare the options before making a decision.

It’s also worth mentioning that it’s important to keep your cryptocurrency stored in a secure wallet, such as a hardware wallet or a secure software wallet.

What are some best practices for buying bitcoin in Sweden?

1. Always use 2-factor authentication (2FA) to secure your account.
2. Store your cryptocurrency in a secure wallet, not on the exchange.
3. Keep your private key and seed phrase safe and secure, as they grant access to your cryptocurrency.
4. Use a reputable and secure exchange with a proven track record.

Using crypto in Sweden

Spend

Spending all your cryptocurrency in Sweden is a lot easier than in many other countries and Sweden is increasingly open to its use.  The country is some way ahead, including bars and retail outlets and the usual global brands such as Starbucks and Microsoft. Sweden is also considering a move to a digital currency and its central bank is trialing a pilot project to introduce an electronic Krona based on blockchain technology.

Gifting crypto

If you’re feeling generous, gifting in Sweden is tax-free and that includes giving away crypto. However, similar to lost or stolen crypto, you can’t deduct gifted crypto from your profits. Also, if you receive crypto as a gift you’ll only pay tax on it when you come to sell it.

Crypto Exchanges

What are the top regulated exchanges in Sweden?

NAME			RATING	FOUNDED DATE	DEPOSIT METHOD	BASED IN	REVIEW	SIGN UP
#1		Bybit	3.6	2018	Card Crypto Sepa Wise Alipay Wechat Apple Pay Google Pay	UAE	Coincub Review	Register Now

#1 Bybit 3.6

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FOUNDED DATE2018

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Crypto regulation in Sweden

Crypto trading & crypto law in Sweden. Is crypto legal in Sweden?

Legal – existing crypto legislation

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are recognized and accepted by the Swedish government as legitimate, but the exact classification as to their status, i.e. a currency or a good, is subject to debate. Sweden is pretty laid back about crypto and its regulatory body, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority recognizes cryptocurrencies as a legitimate form of payment even though it is not recognized as a currency as such. In fact, the Swedish Enforcement Agency even auctioned off some bitcoin it had seized from a resident as compensation for a tax debt!

Legal – forthcoming crypto legislation

New laws and classifications relating to crypto are continually being debated along with the trialling of a digital Krona, so it’s worth checking on the latest news to see how any changes will impact your activities.

Security

Both bitcoin and ether are traded as exchange-traded notes (ETNs) on the Swedish Stockholm Nasdaq Exchange allowing for speculation in the cryptocurrencies in the same way as speculations in gold or oil. As usual, home-based Sweden crypto exchanges and services may offer more customer support and recourse in the event of a problem, but overseas-based exchanges may offer a wider choice of services and more competitive rates.

Transparency

As with many government bodies, the Swedish crypto tax authorities can request information from Sweden crypto exchanges and get it, so your dealings can be made transparent. Exchanges need to provide the Financial Authority with information and keep a record of its transactions and need to register in accordance with the law.

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Taxes in Sweden

Income tax Sweden

Tax is a subject never far away from bitcoin and other digital currencies. Put simply, any crypto that you purchase as an investment is treated as capital property and the gains and losses you realise on them are either income taxable or deductible. Just for the record the current average income tax rate is at 32% and keeping false records could earn you a hefty Swedish fine.

Tax relief on crypto taxes

The position on VAT on crypto was not so clear cut for a long time until the Swedish Administrative Supreme Court ruled that bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies are not subject to VAT – a decision backed by a judgement from the European Union. For trading, capital gains tax is applied to cryptocurrency at a flat rate of 30% and losses are deductible for up to 70%.

Tax when moving residency

If you are a long-term resident of Sweden you are probably deemed a permanent resident for tax purposes. If you are not a permanent resident, and your holdings are outside of Sweden you’ll fall under the required tax laws of your adopted country.

Tax on bitcoin mining

The Swedish Tax Authority published a guideline on how it would view and tax mined bitcoins and other virtual currencies and concluded that mined coins are generally tax exempt.

How to save on crypto and bitcoin taxes in Sweden

In Sweden, you can offset 70% of the losses you make on cryptocurrency trading from cryptocurrency gains.

Although you can’t carry losses forward, it is possible to deduct your cryptocurrency losses from gains or income made elsewhere. This could help you reduce your capital gains tax, interest income tax, and at time even your income tax.

For example, staking rewards and interest earned are subject to a 30% interest income tax. However, you are able to lower your taxable interest income by 70% of the losses you made on cryptocurrency trades.

More information can be found about what you can offset and where here.