The Portuguese Government concluded that securities represented through distributed ledger technologies, such as blockchain technology, must have the same legal value as traditional securities. This decision applies to tokenized financial instruments that function as securities.
The Executive's position was defined after considering the creation of a specific legal regime for securities represented in distributed ledger technologies. The analysis carried out by the authorities showed that such a regime would be unnecessary.
The rationale for this conclusion is based on the principle of technological neutrality, which establishes that the technology used to represent a security should not alter its legal treatment. Therefore, a tokenized security that functions as a share or bond has the same legal effects as its traditional version in paper form or in conventional registries.
This approach positions Portugal in alignment with other European Union Member States that have been adapting their legal frameworks to accommodate the digitalization of financial markets without creating distinctions based on the underlying technology.
