The Payment Services Directive 2 in the era of cryptocurrencies: analysis of their relation in the payments landscape

Abstract

The last decades have been characterized by technological breakthroughs that have completely changed people’s lives under several aspects. As a consequence of what can be defined as Fintech, we are moving towards a cashless society, where individuals’ personal data are handled by tech giants. Under these circumstances, regulators have introduced a fundamental piece of law: the Payment Services Directive 2 (Directive (EU) 2015/2366), to harmonise the European payment landscape by protecting customers and providing rules for payment service providers. This paper examines the characteristics and the consequences of the Directive, focusing on its connection with cryptocurrencies. These entities are not regulated yet, but the European Parliament and Council created the ‘MiCAR’ proposal to overcome this legal vacuum. Nevertheless, there are new participants that escape the existing regulation, as the crypto payment gateway, which apparently performs activities that should be under the PSD2 scope. The aim of this dissertation is to examine the Payment Services Directive 2, analysing its legal role when considering cryptocurrencies, to define whether there is a relation and the possible legal consequences.