Where to Get a CASP Licence: Jurisdictions Compared (2026)

Under MiCA the rulebook is harmonised, so the licence itself is the same wherever you get it. What differs is how fast your regulator moves, what substance they expect on the ground, and how much local talent you can actually hire. Those three things decide your timeline far more than fee schedules do.

Here is how the realistic options compare in 2026.

The passport is the whole point

A CASP licence from any member state passports across all 27. You authorise once and notify onward. That means jurisdiction choice is an operational decision, not a regulatory-arbitrage one — you cannot buy a lighter rulebook by moving, only a different queue.

Anyone selling you a "lighter" EU jurisdiction is selling you a slower one with a friendlier brochure.

What actually varies

Regulator throughput

The single biggest variable. Some national authorities built dedicated crypto teams ahead of MiCA and are clearing files in six months. Others are staffing up against a backlog and are quoting twelve or more. Ask directly how many CASP authorisations they have granted, not how many they have received.

Substance expectations

Every regulator requires genuine local presence, but interpretations differ. Some accept a resident compliance officer plus one resident director. Others want the full executive team on the ground, with evidence of local decision-making — board minutes, office leases, employment contracts. Getting this wrong is the most common cause of a stalled file.

Language and process

Several regulators accept applications in English. Others require certified translation of every document, which adds cost and weeks. Check before you draft.

Talent depth

You need a compliance officer, an MLRO and a risk lead who are resident and hireable. In smaller jurisdictions the pool of people who have done this before is thin, and salaries reflect it. A cheaper filing fee against a 40% salary premium is a bad trade.

The offshore question: SVG, and why it is not a CASP licence

Searches for CASP licences in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and similar offshore options, come up constantly. It is worth being blunt about this.

An offshore registration is not a CASP licence and does not passport into the EU. If you serve EU clients without EU authorisation, you are operating unlawfully under MiCA regardless of where you are incorporated. Reverse solicitation is a narrow exemption and regulators have said plainly that they will read it narrowly — a website in English with a EUR pricing page is not reverse solicitation.

Offshore structures still have legitimate uses for non-EU business. They are not a route into Europe, and treating them as one has become a reliable way to lose banking relationships.

What about New Zealand, the UK and other non-EU regimes?

These are separate regimes with their own registration requirements. They can be sensible if your users are there. They confer nothing under MiCA. If your target market is the EU, you need an EU authorisation, and the only question is which member state issues it.

The CASP register

ESMA maintains a public register of authorised CASPs, and national regulators publish their own lists. Two practical uses:

• Diligence on counterparties. Before integrating a custodian or venue, check they are actually on it. Claims of being "MiCA compliant" are not the same as being authorised.
• Benchmarking. The register shows which regulators are actually granting licences and at what pace — better evidence than any consultant's pitch.

A practical selection method

1. Shortlist three member states where you can genuinely hire and hold board meetings
2. Ask each regulator how many CASP authorisations they have granted and the median time from submission
3. Confirm working language and translation requirements
4. Price the full first-year cost, not the fee — our CASP licence cost breakdown sets out the buckets
5. Confirm your compliance stack is contracted before filing, not after

Get the stack right before you file

Whichever jurisdiction you pick, the systems questions are identical because the rulebook is harmonised. You will be asked how you verify identity, screen against sanctions, monitor transactions and handle Travel Rule messaging.

Useful starting points: crypto KYC providers, sanctions screening software, transaction monitoring software, and KYB compliance requirements if you onboard businesses.

And remember DORA lands on the same firms — see how MiCA and DORA overlap so the ICT questions do not catch you mid-application.

The short version

Pick on throughput and talent. Ignore fee differences under EUR 20,000, because a two-month delay costs more than that in burn. And if someone offers you an EU-serving licence from outside the EU, walk away — see our CASP and MiCA overview for what the regime actually requires.