Crypto & Digital Assets · Georgia
Crypto license in Georgia: VASP requirements (2026)
Georgia shaded by its crypto & digital assets status
Crypto is developing in Georgia, primarily under Georgia AML/CFT Law (amended Jan 2023) + NBG Rule on VASP Registration (Aug 2023) + proposed amendments to Organic Law of NBG (submitted Sept 2025, subordinate acts due Sept 2026); supervised by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).
Georgia operates a live VASP mandatory-registration regime under the National Bank of Georgia since January 2023, covering exchanges, custody, and portfolio management with AML/CFT obligations. Stablecoin issuance rules and a fines framework for VASPs are in force, while a significant expansion, adding minimum capital requirements, expanded supervisory powers, and consumer-protection rules, was submitted to Parliament in September 2025 with implementing acts due by September 2026. Individuals face no capital-gains tax on crypto trading; businesses pay a 15% distributed-profits tax under the Estonian model.
How to get a crypto license in Georgia
To provide crypto-asset services in Georgia you need registration as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), supervised by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), under the Law of Georgia on Virtual Asset Service Providers (in force since 2023) and the AML law.
- Authority
- the National Bank of Georgia (NBG)
- License required
- registration as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP)
- Framework / law
- the Law of Georgia on Virtual Asset Service Providers (in force since 2023) and the AML law
- Minimum capital
- no high fixed minimum; adequate governance, an AML officer and fit-and-proper owners are required
- Timeline
- around 1–3 months to register once the documentation is complete
- Cost
- state registration and supervision fees, plus legal and compliance setup costs
- Passporting
- No — a Georgian VASP registration is national; Georgia is an EU candidate but not yet a member.
Georgia (and its free zones) is marketed as a low-cost, fast VASP jurisdiction; not to be confused with the US state of Georgia.
Crypto license in Georgia: FAQ
Yes. To provide crypto-asset services in Georgia you need registration as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), supervised by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), under the Law of Georgia on Virtual Asset Service Providers (in force since 2023) and the AML law.
The National Bank of Georgia (NBG).
State registration and supervision fees, plus legal and compliance setup costs.
Typically around 1–3 months to register once the documentation is complete.
Key points
Mandatory NBG registration for all virtual-asset service providers has been live since August 1, 2023. Activities covered include crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto exchange, safekeeping/administration, portfolio management, and trading-platform operation. Unregistered entities are publicly warned against.
A bill submitted to Parliament on 17 September 2025 would introduce minimum supervisory capital requirements for VASPs, enhanced NBG inspection and enforcement powers, and explicit consumer-protection obligations. All implementing subordinate acts must be issued by 1 September 2026.
NBG adopted a 'Rule for the Initial Coin Offering of a Stablecoin by a VASP' requiring 100% reserve backing, full segregation of reserve assets from issuer assets, quarterly independent audits (Big Four required when reserves exceed GEL 15 million / ~USD 5.5 million), and prior written NBG consent.
NBG approved a separate regulation on determining, imposing, and enforcing monetary fines against VASPs and their administrators. The NBG also publicly urges consumers not to use unregistered entities, signalling active enforcement posture.
Profits from cryptocurrency trading are exempt from personal income tax for Georgian-resident individuals because such gains are classified as foreign-sourced income. Crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto conversions are also VAT-exempt as crypto is treated akin to monetary funds.
NBG's FinTech Development Strategy acknowledges decentralised finance as an area under active research. No DeFi-specific rules exist; the current VASP framework targets centralised intermediaries. A digital sandbox was launched in April 2025 for innovative financial products.
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