Which authority issues a crypto licence in Lithuania?
The Bank of Lithuania is the authority that issues a crypto licence in Lithuania. Under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), a crypto-asset service provider is authorised as a CASP by the national competent authority, and in Lithuania that role sits with the central bank rather than a separate registrar. So when people search for a “Lithuanian crypto licence”, the concrete thing they’re applying for is MiCA CASP authorisation from the Bank of Lithuania.
This matters because the old model was different — and it is genuinely gone. Before MiCA, Lithuania ran a light national VASP register that at its 2022 peak held more than 800 providers, many of them shells. The country raised the capital floor to €125,000 that November, culled most of the register through 2023–24, and moved to full CASP authorisation. The licence you apply for today is a supervised authorisation, and the Bank of Lithuania has already spent two years removing paper companies — a thin file draws a fast rejection, not a slow approval.
What does a Lithuanian CASP application have to evidence?
A CASP application evidences four things: capital, a local AML function, governance, and ICT resilience. None of these is a box-tick. The file has to show the regulator a real operating business, not a shell.
- Capital. MiCA sets minimum own funds by service class in Annex IV: €50,000 for reception, execution and advice; €125,000 for exchange or operating a platform; €150,000 for custody — or a quarter of your fixed overheads if higher. Lithuania is used to that bar, having applied a €125,000 VASP floor since November 2022.
- Local AML/MLRO substance. You need a real anti-money-laundering function with a Money Laundering Reporting Officer who is actually in Lithuania and actually responsible. Regulators across the Baltics tightened substance expectations well before MiCA, and a nominee-on-paper arrangement doesn’t pass.
- Governance. Fit-and-proper directors, a board that can run the business, clear reporting lines, and documented policies covering conflicts, risk and complaints.
- ICT resilience. MiCA-authorised firms fall under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), so the file has to address ICT risk management, incident reporting and third-party outsourcing controls.
The first sentence of the regulator’s assessment is usually the same question: does this applicant actually intend to operate here, and can it?
How does the VASP-to-CASP transition work?
The VASP-to-CASP transition moves existing registered providers onto the new authorisation regime within a set window. MiCA replaced the patchwork of national VASP registers — Lithuania’s included — with a single CASP framework. Providers that were registered under the old rules don’t keep those rights indefinitely; they have to apply for full CASP authorisation during the transition arrangements, or wind down.
For a new entrant, that’s mostly good news. You skip the legacy step and apply straight for the authorisation everyone will end up holding. For an existing Virtual Asset Service Provider company, the practical question is timing: leaving the transition to the last month, when the regulator’s queue is full, is how a smooth migration turns into a scramble.
Why is Lithuania the busiest EU entry point?
Lithuania is the busiest EU entry point because it pairs a large existing VASP base with a regulator that has processed fintech applications at volume. It isn’t the only MiCA route — Poland (KNF), the Czech Republic (CNB) and Estonia (Finantsinspektsioon) all authorise CASPs too — but Lithuania has handled more crypto and e-money filings than most peers, and the local advisory market is deep.
There’s also the passport. A MiCA CASP authorisation is designed to passport across EU member states, so one Lithuanian licence can support operating into other members after notification. Founders read that as: file once, in a fast-moving competent authority, then expand.
What drives cost and timeline?
Cost and timeline track scope, not a fixed price list. The Bank of Lithuania doesn’t publish a single “a licence costs X” figure, and neither should anyone else. What actually moves the number is the service set you authorise, the capital tier that comes with it, and how much AML and ICT build-out your setup needs from scratch. A complete, well-evidenced file moves faster than one that triggers rounds of regulator questions. Ask any firm for a fixed quote against your specific service list, and treat a headline number quoted before that scoping as a marketing figure.