Like electronic money, such crypto-assets are electronic surrogates for coins and banknotes and can be used for making payments or storing value.

Under the Electronic Money Directive, all e-money tokens are classified as e-money; however, not all forms of e-money are classified as e-money tokens.

The performance of the aforementioned activities is governed by MiCA.

Only credit institutions or electronic money institutions authorised under the Law on Payment Services and Electronic Money are entitled to offer e-money tokens to the public or issue such tokens.

Asset-referenced tokens are a type of crypto-assets that is not an e-money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof (including one or several official currencies).

The performance of the aforementioned activities is governed by MiCA.

Credit institutions or crypto-asset service providers that have obtained the respective authorisation are entitled to offer asset-referenced tokens to the public or issue such tokens.

This group of crypto-assets encompasses all other crypto-assets if they are transferable, not irreplaceable, and have an identified issuer, and they are not explicitly excluded from the scope of MiCA. They also include utility tokens with the aforementioned characteristics.

The performance of the aforementioned activities is governed by MiCA.

Legal persons that have obtained authorisation to provide crypto-asset services are entitled to offer crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens to the public or issue such tokens.

Investment-type crypto-assets may be qualified and classified as financial instruments within the meaning of the Financial Instrument Market Law (transferable securities – capital, debt, other securities or financial derivatives).

The issuer is entitled to offer such crypto-assets, equivalent to transferable securities, to the public only through an investment firm or a credit institution in accordance with the requirements of the Financial Instrument Market Law, except in cases where all of the following conditions are met concurrently:

• the issuer has the characteristics of a small or medium-sized enterprise;
• the total payment calculated for transferable securities does not exceed 3 000 000 euro in 36 months;
• the issuer makes no more than two offers to the public within a period of 36 months;
• the offer is made for equity or debt securities.

In case the issuer intends to raise funds where the total consideration in the EU calculated over 12 months is: 

• up to 1 000 000 euro, the issuer does not have to inform Latvijas Banka; 
• from 1 000 000 to 8 000 000 euro, the issuer has to prepare and publish an offer document pursuant to the Financial and Capital Market Commission's Regulation No 49 of 21 April 2020; 
• above 8 000 000 euro, the issuer has to prepare the issuance prospectus referred to in Regulation (EU) No 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council  and submit it to Latvijas Banka for authorisation. 

Investment services that an investment service provider is entitled to provide include the following offer of services to the public related to investment-type crypto-assets:

• reception and transmission of orders in relation to financial instruments,
• execution of orders on behalf of customers,
• dealing on own account, portfolio management,
• investment advice;
• initial placing of financial instruments, as well as secondary trading through organising the multilateral trading facility and/or the organised trading facility (Clauses 49 and 76 of Section 1 of the Financial Instrument Market Law).

Accordingly, when making an offer to the public before providing the said services the issuer needs to assess whether an investment firm licence for the provision of investment services and ancillary investment services in Latvia should be received.