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

Finland's six-month MiCA transition (among the shortest in the EU/EEA) expired, so former AML-registered virtual currency providers could no longer operate unless granted a MiCA CASP authorisation. After this date only FIN-FSA-authorised crypto-asset service providers may legally serve Finnish customers.

The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation began applying to crypto-asset service providers, replacing the national AML-only registration regime with a full authorisation framework (governance, own funds, transparency, information security). FIN-FSA became the licensing and supervisory authority for CASPs.

The Supreme Administrative Court held that gains on Bitcoin disposals must be calculated using the First-In-First-Out principle unless the taxpayer can prove otherwise, settling the acquisition-cost method for crypto capital gains. The ruling shapes how all Finnish investors compute taxable crypto profits.

FIN-FSA approved the first five virtual currency providers (exchanges, custodian wallets, issuers), with supervision focused on anti-money laundering compliance. This operationalised the new registration regime; unregistered providers were barred from operating under threat of conditional fines.

Detailed FIN-FSA rules specifying registration criteria, safeguarding of client funds, and AML obligations for virtual currency providers entered into force. These guidelines fleshed out the requirements of the 2019 Act.

Finland's first dedicated crypto law, implementing the EU's Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, required virtual currency exchanges, custodian wallet providers, and issuers to register with and be supervised by FIN-FSA. Providers became AML-obliged entities (effective 1 December 2019) obligated to report suspicious transactions.

The court held that disposing of cryptocurrency (e.g. Ether) bought for profit is taxable as income from a transfer of property, establishing that crypto are taxable assets under the Income Tax Act and that crypto-to-crypto trades are taxable events. The decision also opened the door to deducting crypto losses.

In ruling 034/2014 the Central Board of Taxes found that, for VAT purposes, Bitcoin is a means of payment and that fees for converting Bitcoin to/from legal-tender currency are VAT-exempt financial-service commissions. This was Finland's first authoritative tax classification of Bitcoin, foreshadowing the EU-wide Hedqvist outcome.