European Crypto License

Is This the Right Fit for Your Business?

European crypto licensing support fits businesses planning exchange, custody or trading platforms for EU clients.
Decentralized finance (DeFi), non-custodial services and mixed payment models need individual classification. Financial instruments and non-EU-only markets require separate regulatory analysis.

Which Regulatory Route Applies?

An incomplete Article 60 notification prevents the proposed start.

Regulated Crypto-Asset Services

MiCA service classes set minimum safeguards for Article 59 authorization:

• Class 1, €50,000: executing client orders, placing crypto-assets with purchasers, transfers, receiving and transmitting orders, advice and portfolio management
• Class 2, €125,000: Class 1 services plus custody (holding and administering client assets) and exchange for money or other crypto-assets
• Class 3, €150,000: Class 2 services plus operating a trading platform

Use the highest applicable class. Token issuance, including asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and electronic money tokens (EMTs), requires separate analysis.

What Gofaizen & Sherle Handles

Gofaizen & Sherle identifies which services need permission and supports EU jurisdiction selection with company setup. We prepare application documents and policies for management, technology, anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing (AML/CFT), and help answer the regulator’s questions.

You provide accurate records and put the operating arrangements into practice. Local counsel handles agreed local questions. Banking readiness, passporting planning and ongoing support require an agreed scope.

Work Scopes and Costs

Professional fees depend on agreed work. Official and third-party charges, own funds, staff, technology, office and banking costs are separate budget items.

What We Need From You

To identify requirements and prepare the application, provide:

• Owner and director information, suitability records and sources of funds
• Products, client markets, who holds assets and handles payments, and an operating plan
• Corporate records, forecasts, governance, risk, business-continuity, technology, AML/CFT, complaints and client-asset protection arrangements

For Article 59 authorization, the registered office must be in a Member State where some services occur. Effective management must be in the EU, with at least one EU-resident director.

For Article 59 authorization, Article 67 safeguards must continuously equal the higher of the class minimum or one quarter of last year’s fixed overheads. New businesses use first-year forecasts. Qualifying own funds, compliant insurance, a comparable guarantee or a combination qualify. These resources support resilience, not regulator payments. Article 60(10) exempts eligible institutions.

Application Timeline

Article 63 allows five working days to acknowledge receipt and 25 to check completeness. Assessment takes 40 working days from a complete application. A qualifying information request made by review day 20 can pause assessment for up to 20 working days. The decision is communicated within five working days.

Preparation, correcting incomplete documents, banking and operational setup take additional time.

EU Regulatory Framework

MiCA, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, governs market access and client protection.
The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), Regulation (EU) 2022/2554, addresses technology resilience.
AML/CFT rules impose separate controls.
Additional permissions depend on activities.

Current Authorization Status

Home Member State Requirements

Local company law, application language, forms, fees, management evidence, operating presence and reporting requirements affect preparation. A shared EU framework does not make national procedures identical.

Ongoing Compliance

The CASP must maintain applicable financial safeguards, protect client assets and apply AML/CFT and transfer-information controls. Management must address technology risks, incidents, resilience testing and outsourcing. Complaints, conflicts, records, reporting and notifications of relevant changes remain ongoing obligations.

Operating Outside Your Permission

Unauthorized activities and failures in governance, financial safeguards, AML or technology controls create regulatory risk. Expansion must remain within permitted services.

Banking and Payment Readiness

Banks and payment providers assess owners, funding, transaction flows and client countries. Authorization does not guarantee an account.

Under Article 70, a CASP holding client funds other than EMTs must protect clients’ ownership rights. Funds must reach an account identifiable separately from the CASP’s own accounts at a credit institution or central bank by the end of the working day after receipt. Paragraphs 2 and 3 exempt CASPs that are credit, payment or electronic money institutions. This exemption does not cover paragraph 1’s crypto-asset protections.

Payment services require the CASP or its third-party provider to hold the applicable authorization under the Payment Services Directive (PSD2).

Compare European Jurisdictions

In the eight EU countries below, MiCA requires authorization or eligible Article 60 notification. Article 59 applicants must meet the EU establishment requirements. Non-EU establishment requirements need separate assessment. Bank onboarding is individual everywhere; tax consequences require country-specific analysis.