Licensing of crypto activities
A crypto licence in 2026 is an authorisation from the financial regulator of the market you serve. In the European Union it is a MiCA CASP authorisation from a national competent authority, valid across the EEA. In the UK the regulator is the FCA; in the US, FinCEN registration plus state money transmitter licences; in Canada, MSB registration with FINTRAC; in Japan, registration with the FSA; in Singapore, a MAS licence. Blocons prepares the application, the AML/KYC framework and the documents the regulator reviews, and stays with you through the regulator's questions.
Where a crypto licence is issued now
- European Union, MiCA: one CASP authorisation under Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, then a notification to serve clients in other member states. How the regime works and how to choose a country: MiCA CASP licence in the EU.
- Estonia: CASP authorisation from Finantsinspektsioon. Crypto licence in Estonia.
- Malta: CASP authorisation from the MFSA. Crypto licence in Malta.
- Lithuania: CASP authorisation from the Bank of Lithuania. Crypto licence in Lithuania.
- United Kingdom: FCA. Crypto licence in the UK.
- United States: FinCEN MSB registration and money transmitter licences state by state: Money Transmitter License (MTL). New York requires a BitLicense from NYDFS: crypto licence in New York.
- Canada: MSB registration with FINTRAC for dealing in virtual currency. MSB registration in Canada.
- Japan: registration with the Financial Services Agency as a crypto-asset exchange service provider. Crypto licence in Japan.
- Singapore: licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore under the Payment Services Act. Singapore.
What changed for EU crypto licences
MiCA has applied to crypto-asset service providers since 30 December 2024. National registers such as the Estonian and Lithuanian VASP regimes and the Maltese VFA licence were allowed to run only for a transitional period, which ended on 1 July 2026 at the latest. A company that still relies on a national VASP registration needs a CASP authorisation to keep serving EU clients.
Minimum capital under MiCA (Annex IV) depends on the services you provide: € 50 000 for advice, portfolio management, order execution, reception and transmission of orders, placing and transfer services; € 125 000 when you add custody or exchange of crypto-assets; € 150 000 for operating a trading platform. The requirement is the higher of this amount and one quarter of the previous year's fixed overheads (Article 67).
How we work
- Free review of the business model: which services you plan (custody, exchange, trading platform, transfers, advice) and where your clients are.
- Choice of jurisdiction and service class, with the reasons in writing.
- Company structure, management, capital plan, AML/KYC policies and the business plan the regulator expects.
- Filing the application and answering the regulator's questions.
- Support after authorisation: reporting, AML procedures, changes to the licence.
Our fee is quoted in writing after the review, because an advisory-only licence and a platform with custody differ in scope several times over. Request a free review.