Licensing & Compliance
Crypto Licensing
Under MiCA — Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, applying to service providers since 30 December 2024 — a crypto licence has stopped being a formality and become the credential your bank checks first. There are three real routes: a national VASP registration, a MiCA CASP authorisation, or an offshore licence. This page explains how they differ and routes you to the deep dive on each, so you pick the one your target market and banking plan actually need, not the one that is easiest to sell you.
- MiCA
- Reg (EU) 2023/1114, applying from 30 Dec 2024
- 1 Jul 2026
- transitional deadline for legacy VASPs in most EU states
- €50k–150k
- tiered CASP capital, by service type
- EU + offshore
- we place and license across both, honestly
Three licensing routes. One of them fits your business.
Each route below has its own deep-dive page with the capital, timelines, jurisdictions and banking reality laid out in full. Start with the one that matches where you want to operate.
VASP License in Europe
The national Virtual Asset Service Provider regimes that predate MiCA, how the transitional periods work, and which registrations still hold banking weight during the overlap.
Read the deep diveCASP License Under MiCA
The unified EU authorisation: capital tiers, passporting, MLRO and local-substance requirements, and the jurisdictions where the application actually moves.
Read the deep diveOffshore Crypto License
Seychelles, Cayman, Vanuatu, BVI and the wider offshore field: faster and cheaper to stand up, but honest about the banking limits that come with them.
Read the deep diveThe three routes, compared where it matters
Cost and speed are the easy columns. Banking access is the one nobody publishes, so it is here. A MiCA CASP licence carries the most weight with EU banks; an offshore licence is usually a holding layer, not the entity a European bank will actually open for.
| MiCA CASP | National VASP | Offshore | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulatory basis | MiCA, Reg (EU) 2023/1114, harmonised EU-wide | National regime (pre-MiCA), country by country | Local statute, standards vary widely |
| Market access | Full EEA passporting from one authorisation | Limited to the issuing state; transitional only | Primarily non-EU and emerging markets |
| Minimum capital | €50k / €125k / €150k, tiered by service | Set by the national regime, being phased out | Low or flexible; sometimes none formally |
| Setup speed | Moderate to slow; enhanced due diligence | Faster historically, now closing to new entrants | Fast to moderate |
| Banking access | Strongest: banks treat it as a gateway credential | Moderate, narrowing as CASP becomes the standard | Limited with EU banks; a holding layer, not the banked entity |
| Best for | Firms scaling across Europe long-term | Incumbents mid-migration to CASP | Cost-sensitive, non-EU-focused startups |
Capital bands and timelines are indicative and vary by applicant history, service mix and counsel. Banking access reflects our current placement experience, not a guarantee for any specific institution.
MiCA, in plain terms, and where it applies
MiCA replaced a patchwork of national VASP regimes with one harmonised authorisation. Get a CASP licence in one member state and you can passport services across the whole EEA. In return, the bar rises: tiered capital, a resident director, an appointed MLRO, custody safeguards and the FATF Travel Rule, mandatory for CASPs since 30 December 2024 with no grace period.
Capital, tiered by service
€50,000 for advisory and order execution, €125,000 for crypto-to-fiat exchanges, and €150,000 for trading platforms and custody.
Governance and substance
At least one EU/EEA-resident director, a physical office in the licensing state, and an appointed Money Laundering Reporting Officer.
Where the file moves
Estonia, Lithuania, Malta and Poland are the jurisdictions we place against most, each with a different cost, timeline and banking temperament.
Authoritative sources: MiCA, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (EUR-Lex), ESMA and the FATF virtual-assets guidance on the Travel Rule.
Offshore is cheaper and faster. It is also banked differently.
Seychelles, Cayman, Vanuatu and BVI can stand up a licence quickly and at low cost, and for a business targeting non-EU markets that can be the right call. But an offshore VASP is usually treated as a holding layer, not the entity an EU bank will open for, and without solid Travel Rule tooling it gets de-risked by correspondent banks. We tell you which of your entities a bank will actually want to see before you file.
- 1
Seychelles: quick, low-cost registration under the VASP Act, most often used as a stepping stone rather than the banked entity.
- 2
Cayman Islands: respected offshore standing, VASP registration case-by-case on banking; a familiar name to institutional counterparties.
- 3
Vanuatu and BVI: flexible and fast to incorporate, but thin on EU banking access and reliant on strong compliance to hold correspondent relationships.
- 4
Travel Rule everywhere: the FATF Recommendation 16 control is what keeps global banking partners on side, offshore or not.
Licence guides by jurisdiction
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a VASP and a MiCA CASP?
A VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) is the FATF term used for national registrations worldwide. In the EU those national regimes are being replaced by the CASP (Crypto-Asset Service Provider) authorisation under MiCA. The practical difference is passporting: a CASP licence lets you provide services across all EU member states from a single authorisation, whereas a VASP registration is generally limited to the country that issued it.
When does the MiCA transition actually bite?
MiCA (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114) began applying to crypto-asset service providers on 30 December 2024. Firms already registered as VASPs before that date can, in most member states, keep operating under a transitional period running to roughly 1 July 2026 — but only if they file a full CASP application by their national deadline. The exact deadline differs by country, so the country you sit in changes your timeline.
What are the MiCA CASP capital requirements?
They are tiered by the service you provide: €50,000 for advisory or order-execution services, €125,000 for crypto-to-fiat exchanges, and €150,000 for trading platforms and custody. These minimums exist so the regulator can see you are capitalised enough to survive market stress, and banks read them the same way.
Do offshore VASPs still need the Travel Rule?
In practice, yes. The FATF Travel Rule (Recommendation 16) has been adopted well beyond the EU, and offshore VASPs that cannot originate and receive counterparty data get de-risked by correspondent banks quickly. In the EU the Transfer of Funds Regulation makes it mandatory for CASPs with no grace period; offshore, it is the single control that keeps global banking partners on side.
Which EU jurisdictions do you work in for CASP licensing?
We work most often in Estonia, Lithuania, Malta and Poland. Each has a different capital level, director-residency rule and banking temperament, and the right one depends on your service mix, budget and where you actually want to bank. We give you the honest comparison before you incorporate anywhere.
How long does bank onboarding take once the licence is granted?
Even with a licence in hand, expect three to six months. Banks run enhanced due diligence on your UBOs, your AML manuals and your source-of-funds file. The licence gets you in the door; the compliance folder is what closes the account. We build that folder to institutional standard so the review does not stall on missing documents.
Related guides on crypto licensing
Deeper reading on the MiCA transition and the offshore field, for founders who want the detail behind the three routes above.
MiCA / EU
VASP vs CASP: What Changed When the MiCA Deadline Passed
Read the guideMiCA / EU
What Happens If You Missed the MiCA CASP Deadline
Read the guideMiCA / EU
How to Get a MiCA CASP License: Cost, Tiers, and Timeline
Read the guideUK / FCA
UK FCA Crypto Business Registration Explained
Read the guideOffshore
Offshore Crypto License Jurisdictions Compared: The 2026 Guide
Read the guideKnow which licence fits, before you incorporate anywhere
Tell us your service mix, target market and rough budget. We come back with the honest route — CASP, VASP or offshore — and the banking picture that comes with it.
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