Is crypto legal in Belgium? Regulation & rules (2026)

The law of 11 December 2025 (adopted in plenary 4 December, published in the Belgian Official Journal) sets up the national supervisory architecture for MiCA: the FSMA authorises and supervises crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) and is sole authority for conduct rules, while the NBB handles prudential supervision of regulated entities like credit and e-money institutions. This made full MiCA licensing operational in Belgium.

The government tabled the bill specifying which authorities supervise MiCA in Belgium, choosing a dual FSMA/NBB framework rather than keeping the FSMA as sole regulator. It set the stage for the December 2025 implementing law.

Titles on CASP authorisation, token offerings and market abuse began applying across the EU, replacing national crypto frameworks with a harmonised regime. Belgian providers became subject to MiCA authorisation requirements (with transitional periods).

Across 2024 the FSMA issued 16 warnings against 297 fraudulent entities and 396 websites, with crypto scams and fraudulent trading platforms accounting for roughly half of all reported fraud and over €12.5 million of reported H2 losses. Underscored crypto's prominence as a consumer-protection risk in Belgium.

Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (published in the Official Journal on 9 June 2023) entered into force, establishing the EU-wide legal framework that would govern crypto-assets in Belgium from end-2024. It is the foundational instrument of Belgium's current regime.

The FSMA found Binance was providing crypto exchange and custody services from non-EEA entities in breach of the 2022 registration regime, and ordered it to stop and to return clients' crypto keys/assets or transfer them to authorised EEA entities. A landmark Belgian crypto enforcement action.

Under a Royal Decree of 8 February 2023, paid advertising of virtual currencies to Belgian consumers must be accurate, carry mandatory risk warnings ('Virtual currency, real risks'), and mass campaigns (>25,000 people) must be notified to the FSMA 10 days in advance. One of the strictest crypto marketing regimes in the EU at the time.

The Royal Decree of 8 February 2022 (transposing AMLD5) took effect, requiring Belgium-established providers of virtual/fiat exchange and custodian wallet services to register with the FSMA and meet AML, expertise, capital and fit-and-proper conditions; non-EEA providers were barred. This created Belgium's first dedicated VASP licensing regime.

The National Bank of Belgium and the FSMA jointly cautioned that virtual currencies are not legal tender, are not covered by deposit guarantees, and carry significant risks. This marked Belgian authorities' first formal public position on crypto and framed their consumer-protection stance for years.