Irish Crypto Market Overview

Ireland’s emerging blockchain and crypto industry presents many tangible economic opportunities for the local economy – including new jobs, tax revenues and increased capital investment. This is a significant opportunity for the country and it’s important that government policy is set to enable this sector to grow and flourish.

The Irish Crypto Market Overview is positioned to facilitate the development of this emerging sector and have already taken a number of steps. These include imposing a requirement for exchanges to register as VASPs (Virtual Asset Service Providers), and implementing AML/KYC requirements that are consistent with those of the EU. These requirements are set to expand in 2026, when DAC8 goes live across the EU and extends the scope of AML/KYC measures to cover virtual wallet providers.

What’s Happening in Ireland’s Crypto Space

Stablecoins (or stable coins) are a type of cryptocurrency whose value is linked to another asset, usually gold or a fiat currency like the euro. These are treated in the same way as other cryptocurrencies and disposals of them are subject to income tax (though not capital gains tax) in the same way that the sale of fiat currencies is. Gifting of stablecoins is also considered a taxable disposal and capital acquisitions tax would apply to the value of the coin at the time of receipt.

While direct exposure to crypto assets is not permitted through UCITS and RIAIFs in the Republic of Ireland, they can gain indirect exposure to these assets by investing in derivative instruments that reference them. This approach is similar to that which UCITS and RIAIFs use to gain exposure to traditional shares.