MiCA CASP - Belgium
Crypto Licence in Belgium (MiCA CASP)
We scope your crypto-asset services, file the FSMA application, and coordinate the Belgian company behind it.
- 0 CASPs authorised in Belgium to date
- Capital: EUR 50,000 to EUR 150,000
- FSMA or National Bank, by service type
- EU-wide passporting after authorisation
Getting Authorised as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider in Belgium
Belgium licenses crypto-asset service providers under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), not a national scheme of its own. We scope which of the ten MiCA services your business performs, prepare and file your FSMA application, and coordinate our company registration overview for the Belgian company behind it.
FSMA here means the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority, the regulator for crypto-asset authorisation. It is not the same body as the United Kingdom's Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, a different statute in a different country.
What We Handle for Your CASP Application
We coordinate the Belgian company beneath the authorisation (BV/SRL or NV/SA), whether that means a fresh incorporation or the ready-made companies rules and deadlines where the timeline allows.
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Scoping the Services and the Route
We map which of the ten MiCA crypto-asset services your business actually performs, then confirm whether you need Article 63 authorisation or an Article 60 notification.
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Filing the Application File
We prepare and file the Article 62(2) application: programme of operations, governance description, prudential-safeguard evidence, AML and risk policies, and a description for each service applied for.
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Coordinating the Belgian Company
We coordinate the Belgian company underneath the licence (BV/SRL or NV/SA), the registered office that meets the Article 59(2) substance test, and the EU-resident director the file needs.
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Fit-and-Proper Evidence
We coordinate the fit-and-proper evidence for every manager and every holder of 10% or more of capital or voting rights: identity, criminal record and competence.
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Filing and Passporting
We handle the FSMA filing itself and, once you are authorised, the Article 65 passporting notification into the other Member States you want to serve.
Who Needs a Belgian CASP Authorisation
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Custody, Exchange or Trading-Platform Businesses
These sit in Annex IV class 2 or 3, with a capital floor of EUR 125,000 or EUR 150,000.
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Execution, Placing, Advice or Portfolio Management Only
These sit in Annex IV class 1, with a EUR 50,000 capital floor.
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An Existing EU-Regulated Institution Adding Crypto Services
A credit institution, investment firm, payment institution or e-money institution may qualify for an Article 60 notification to the FSMA instead, sometimes assessed by the National Bank.
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Not Sure Which of the Ten You Perform?
That question decides your class, your capital floor and your fee. Start with a scoping review.
How the FSMA Authorisation Process Works
- Scope the services and the route. Decide which of the ten MiCA services you perform, and whether you need Article 63 authorisation or an Article 60 notification. Days, not a filing.
- Incorporate or confirm the Belgian company. Meet the Article 59(2) substance test: a registered office where part of the services run, effective management in the Union, and at least one EU-resident director.
- Fund the prudential safeguard. Reach the Annex IV floor in own funds, or arrange the Article 67(4) insurance policy instead, a comparable guarantee, or a combination of the two.
- Assemble the Article 62(2) file. Programme of operations, governance description, safeguard evidence, risk and ICT policies, and one service-specific description for each service applied for.
- Collect the fit-and-proper evidence. Criminal record extracts and declarations of no financial-services, insolvency, AML, fraud or professional-liability penalties, for every manager and every 10%-or-more holder.
- File with the FSMA. Submit to the FSMA at the address it publishes for CASP applications, and pay the Article 7 §1 application contribution under the Royal Decree of 23 January 2026.
- Wait out the statutory clock. Acknowledgement in 5 working days, completeness checked in 25, a decision in 40 from a complete file, with up to 20 more days possible.
- Passport into the rest of the EU. Notify the FSMA of the Member States and services to add; it forwards within 10 working days, and you may start within 15 calendar days.
Documents You Will Need to Apply
Every item below assumes a Belgian entity already exists or is forming. Check what the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises shows about a company before you assemble the rest.
- Passport or national ID for every director and every 10%-or-more holder.
- Criminal record extracts and declarations of no financial-services or AML penalties.
- CVs and evidence of competence for the whole management body.
- Proof of funds for the safeguard, or the Article 67 insurance policy.
- Ownership chain up to the ultimate beneficial owners, for the UBO register.
- Business plan and first-year fixed-overhead projections.
- ICT, security and AML/CFT documentation, plus the full policy set.
- Apostille or sworn translation for foreign documents, where the rules are still unsettled.
Not Sure Which of the Ten Crypto-Asset Services You Need Authorised?
Tell us what your business does, and we will scope the route, the class and the capital floor that follow.
What the FSMA Actually Charges
These figures are the Royal Decree of 23 January 2026's own numbers, checked on 25 September 2026: no fee of ours appears anywhere on this page, only what the state charges.
| What the FSMA charges | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Application contribution, base | EUR 20,000 | Art. 7 §1 |
| Application supplement, custody and administration | EUR 15,000 | Art. 7 §1 a) |
| Application supplement, operation of a trading platform | EUR 25,000 | Art. 7 §1 b) |
| Application supplement, each other service, 8 services | EUR 2,500 each | Art. 7 §1 c) to j) |
| Annual supervision contribution, base | EUR 20,000 per year | Art. 7 §2 |
| Annual supervision supplement | same per-service scale as the application | Art. 7 §2 |
| White paper notification fee | EUR 6,000; EUR 500 if modified | Art. 6 |
| Asset-referenced token issuer annual fee | EUR 10,000 per year | Art. 5 |
Nobody in this market publishes the combination: the same decree gives the total for a realistic scope.
| Scope applied for | Application contribution | Annual supervision contribution | Annex IV minimum capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advice on crypto-assets only | EUR 22,500 | EUR 22,500 | EUR 50,000, class 1 |
| Custody, exchange for funds, exchange for crypto | EUR 40,000 | EUR 40,000 | EUR 125,000, class 2 |
| All ten services, including a trading platform | EUR 80,000 | EUR 80,000 | EUR 150,000, class 3 |
Problems We Solve
Authorisation does not end the compliance list: the operating company still has its own belgium vat threshold to register against, and pays Belgian belgium tax percentage corporate tax like any other company.
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"Nobody Has Been Authorised in Belgium Yet"
Both FSMA registers, authorised CASPs and Article 60 notifications, read "Nihil" as at the last verified date. That is a timing fact about a clean-slate jurisdiction, not a reason to hide the topic.
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The Real State Cost, Against a Wrong Market Figure
The market's usual quote is roughly EUR 5,000 to apply and EUR 3,000 a year. The decree's own cheapest figure is EUR 22,500 for a single service, both to apply and annually.
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Which of the Ten Services Am I Performing?
Every provider talks about "a crypto licence" as one thing. MiCA names ten separate services; your combination sets your Annex IV class, your capital floor and your fee.
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FSMA or the National Bank?
Most applicants file with the FSMA. Stockbroking firms, e-money institutions without Article 60(3)-(4) equivalence, and payment institutions adding crypto services go to the National Bank instead, under the Law of 11 December 2025.
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A Nominee Director Is Not a Shortcut
The FSMA vets the real management body, not a name on paper. A nominee director carries full statutory liability regardless of any private arrangement (Article 5:73 CSA).
Why Work With Us
From our practice. Aurelie Lambert leads tax, licensing and compliance: ten years, the last seven on Belgian files, in French, English and Dutch. She prepares the Article 62(2) application and coordinates the fit-and-proper evidence and the company behind it. No CASP has completed this route in Belgium yet: no completed-case claim, only the same file-preparation discipline used on the sibling payment-institution licence.
Related Services
Frequently Asked Questions
Has anyone actually been authorised as a CASP in Belgium?
No. Both FSMA registers, authorised CASPs and Article 60 notifications, read "Nihil," last verified 18 September 2026 and rechecked 25 September 2026 (FSMA). The pre-MiCA national regime produced zero registrations before it expired either. Belgium is a clean-slate jurisdiction under MiCA, not an empty promise: the framework is real, nobody has used it yet.
How much does a crypto licence cost in Belgium?
The FSMA's own contributions under the Royal Decree of 23 January 2026: a base of EUR 20,000 to apply (Article 7 §1) and EUR 20,000 a year to keep it (Article 7 §2), plus per-service supplements of EUR 2,500 to EUR 25,000. No fee of ours appears on this page.
How much capital do I need for a Belgian CASP authorisation?
EUR 50,000, EUR 125,000 or EUR 150,000, depending on the class of services you are authorised for (Annex IV MiCA), or one quarter of your fixed overheads if that figure is higher. You can meet the floor with an insurance policy instead of cash (Article 67 MiCA).
Do I need a crypto licence in Belgium?
Yes, if your business performs any one of the ten crypto-asset services MiCA lists for clients in the Union (Article 3(1)(16)). You need either Article 63 authorisation, or, if you are already one of the listed EU-regulated financial institutions, an Article 60 notification instead.
Who has to be fit and proper for the application?
Every member of the management body, and every direct or indirect holder of 10% or more of capital or voting rights (Article 62(3), Article 3(1)(36) MiCA). An unsuitable management body is a mandatory refusal ground (Article 63(10)(a)), so the file has to prove competence and a clean record for each of them.
Who decides my application, the FSMA or the National Bank of Belgium?
Most applicants file with the FSMA. Stockbroking firms, e-money institutions without Article 60(3)-(4) equivalence, and payment institutions adding crypto-asset services go to the National Bank instead (Articles 18 and 19, Law of 11 December 2025). One paragraph in the application settles which regulator is yours before you file.
How long does the FSMA take to decide?
Five working days to acknowledge receipt, 25 to check completeness, and 40 working days from a complete file to decide (Article 63 MiCA), with up to 20 more if the FSMA asks for further information. No CASP has completed the route in Belgium yet, so there is no observed total to compare against.
Do I need a Belgian company and a Belgian director to apply?
Yes. Article 59(2) MiCA requires a registered office in a Member State where part of the crypto-asset services are carried out, effective management in the Union, and at least one director resident in the Union. The Belgian company has to exist, or be forming, before the FSMA has anything to authorise.
What is a CASP authorisation, and how is it different from the old Belgian VASP registration?
The Royal Decree of 8 February 2022 set up a national VASP registration that MiCA repealed, and it never produced a single registration before it expired. CASP authorisation replaced it under a single EU regulation, and the pre-MiCA transitional period for providers already operating ended on 1 July 2026.
Does a Belgian CASP licence let me operate across the rest of the EU?
Yes, through passporting (Article 65 MiCA): you notify the FSMA of the Member States and services you want to add, it forwards the notification within 10 working days, and you may start on receipt of that communication or, at the latest, the 15th calendar day after you submitted it.
What happens if I operate without authorisation?
The FSMA publishes a public warning list naming unauthorised providers. From 1 July 2026, a provider without authorisation anywhere in the Union "must stop offering these services in Europe," in the regulator's own words. There is no grace period after that date for a provider that never applied.
Which crypto-asset services can I add to my authorisation later?
Any of the ten Article 3(1)(16) services, but adding one is not a formality: it requires an extension of the authorisation, assessed afresh under Article 63 (Article 59(8) MiCA), with its own capital and fit-and-proper check against the new combination.
Ready to Scope Your Belgian CASP Application?
Send us the crypto-asset services you plan to offer in Belgium. We will map the authorisation route, the class and what the FSMA actually charges.