The Bank of Italy addresses, in a very detailed paper, the topic of cryptocurrencies and Blockchain, as well as investigating the impacts of new European directive on payment services, also known as PSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2).
The paper, included in the legal research notebooks of the legal consultancy, addresses the topic in 349 pages, of which 100 are dedicated to all aspects relating to cryptocurrencies and blockchain, from anti-money laundering to tax aspects, including delving into third-party payments and the interference between PSD2 and cryptocurrencies.
The world of banking, financial, and payment services has recently undergone significant changes, brought about by technological innovation and regulatory developments (in particular, PSD2 Directive 2015/2366/EU, Legislative Decree 218/2017, which implemented it, and EU Regulation 2015/751).
With these interventions, the boundaries of the PSD regime have been extended towards scenarios involving new subjects (so-called. Third Party Providers).
At the same time, technological innovation has introduced the blockchain, which on the one hand has allowed the global spread of virtual currencies, exchanged with peer to peer documented in a digital register distributed among users, on the other hand it could make the use of centralized registers managed by the relevant authorities useless in the long term. Technological innovation is also responsible for the introduction of advanced IT platforms capable of using computer processing (algorithms) of a series of information (big data) and to allow the meeting between subjects with excess liquidity and subjects seeking financing.
The Bank of Italy on Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain
English 
Italian 