Crypto & Digital Assets · Belgium
Crypto license in Belgium: MiCA CASP requirements (2026)
Belgium shaded by its crypto & digital assets status
Crypto is regulated in Belgium, primarily under EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA, Reg. (EU) 2023/1114) as implemented by the Belgian Act of 11 December 2025 (published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 24 December 2025; in force 3 January 2026); twin-peaks supervision by the FSMA (Financial Services and Markets Authority) and the National Bank of Belgium (NBB). AML/CFT is governed by the Act of 18 September 2017 and the EU AML package; taxation by the Income Tax Code as amended by the 2026 capital-gains tax law..
Crypto and digital-asset activities are legal in Belgium and now sit under a comprehensive, in-force regulatory regime built on EU MiCA. The Implementing Act of 11 December 2025 entered into force on 3 January 2026, designating the FSMA as the competent authority for CASPs and crypto-asset public offerings, and the NBB as prudential supervisor for asset-referenced and e-money token issuers and credit-institution CASPs. A transitional grandfathering period allows pre-30 December 2024 service providers to continue until 1 July 2026 or until their MiCA authorisation is granted/refused.
How to get a crypto license in Belgium
To provide crypto-asset services in Belgium you need a MiCA CASP authorisation (Crypto-Asset Service Provider), supervised by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), Title V.
- Authority
- the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA)
- License required
- a MiCA CASP authorisation (Crypto-Asset Service Provider)
- Framework / law
- the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), Title V
- Minimum capital
- €50,000–€150,000 minimum, by service class (Class 1/2/3)
- Timeline
- about 40 working days of substantive review; 1–3 months for a well-prepared application
- Cost
- an application fee of roughly €5,000–€25,000, plus ongoing supervisory fees
- Passporting
- Yes — a single MiCA CASP licence passports across all 27 EU member states.
Crypto license in Belgium: FAQ
Yes. To provide crypto-asset services in Belgium you need a MiCA CASP authorisation (Crypto-Asset Service Provider), supervised by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), Title V.
The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA).
An application fee of roughly €5,000–€25,000, plus ongoing supervisory fees.
Typically about 40 working days of substantive review; 1–3 months for a well-prepared application.
Yes — a single MiCA CASP licence passports across all 27 EU member states.
Key points
The Act of 11 December 2025 implementing MiCA was published on 24 December 2025 and entered into force on 3 January 2026; Belgian sanctions and enforcement powers became fully operational on that date.
FSMA supervises CASPs (other than credit institutions and stockbroking firms) and crypto-asset public offers / admissions to trading; NBB is the prudential supervisor for ART/EMT issuers and for CASPs that are credit institutions, stockbrokers, CSDs or e-money institutions.
Since 3 January 2026, services such as custody, trading, portfolio management or operation of trading platforms may no longer be offered in/from Belgium without a MiCA Art. 63 CASP authorisation; applications go to [email protected].
Providers that lawfully offered services before 30 December 2024 under prior national law may continue to provide the same services until 1 July 2026 or until their MiCA authorisation is granted/refused, whichever is sooner.
Belgium's first general capital-gains tax on financial assets (adopted by Parliament on 2 April 2026, retroactive to 1 January 2026) applies a 10% rate to private-investor crypto gains, with a €10,000 annual exemption; speculative gains remain taxed at 33% and professional gains at progressive rates up to 50%.
The Belgian Parliament adopted the DAC8 implementing law on 12 March 2026 (published 1 April 2026, retroactive to 1 January 2026), obliging CASPs to collect and report customer-transaction data to the FPS Finance for automatic exchange with EU tax authorities.
Timeline - major decisions & events
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.
FSMA ↗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.
DLA Piper ↗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).
ESMA ↗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.
FSMA ↗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.
EUR-Lex (EU) ↗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.
FSMA ↗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.
FSMA ↗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.
FSMA ↗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.
FSMA / NBB ↗Belgium - other topics
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