Crypto & Digital Assets · Lithuania
Crypto license in Lithuania: MiCA CASP requirements (2026)
Lithuania shaded by its crypto & digital assets status
Crypto is regulated in Lithuania.
FrameworkEU Regulation 2023/1114 (MiCA) directly applicable; nationally implemented by the Law on Markets in Crypto-Assets of the Republic of Lithuania (adopted 11 July 2024). Competent authority: Bank of Lithuania (Lietuvos bankas). AML/CFT supervision by the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT/FCIS) under the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. Tax treatment under the Law on Personal Income Tax and Law on Corporate Income Tax administered by the State Tax Inspectorate (VMI).
Crypto is legal in Lithuania and is regulated under the EU MiCA framework, which is fully applicable from 30 December 2024 with the national Law on Markets in Crypto-Assets transposing competent-authority and supervisory arrangements. Lithuania did not use the optional MiCA grandfathering grace period in full: it set a hard cutoff of 1 January 2026, after which all crypto-asset service providers operating in or from Lithuania must hold a Bank of Lithuania CASP authorisation. The Bank of Lithuania supervises CASPs, EMT and ART issuers, while FNTT handles AML/CFT and tax follows ordinary PIT/CIT rules (15% standard rate).
How to get a crypto license in Lithuania
To provide crypto-asset services in Lithuania you need a MiCA CASP authorisation (Crypto-Asset Service Provider), supervised by the Bank of Lithuania, under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), Title V.
- Authority
- the Bank of Lithuania
- 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.
What a crypto license in Lithuania covers
- Custody and administration of crypto-assets for clients
- Operating a trading platform for crypto-assets
- Exchanging crypto-assets for funds, or for other crypto-assets
- Executing orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients
- Reception and transmission of orders, and placing of crypto-assets
- Advice and portfolio management on crypto-assets
- Transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients
How to get a crypto license in Lithuania: step by step
- 1Incorporate a legal entity with a registered office in the member state, with at least one director resident in the EU.
- 2Build the application file: programme of operations, business plan, governance, AML/CFT, ICT resilience and client-asset segregation.
- 3Submit the application to the national competent authority.
- 4Completeness check: the authority has 25 working days to confirm the file is complete and request anything missing.
- 5Substantive assessment: the authority has 40 working days to grant or refuse the authorisation.
- 6Once authorised, notify the passport to the host member states you intend to serve, then begin operating across the EU.
Documents required in Lithuania
- Programme of operations describing each crypto-asset service you will provide
- Business plan with three-year financial projections
- Evidence of prudential safeguards (own funds or qualifying insurance)
- Governance arrangements, organisational chart and internal-control description
- AML/CFT policies and the appointment of a compliance officer
- ICT security, business-continuity and DORA-aligned resilience policies
- Custody and client-asset segregation arrangements
- Complaints-handling procedure and conflict-of-interest policy
- Fit-and-proper evidence for directors and qualifying shareholders (CVs, criminal-record certificates)
After authorisation: ongoing obligations in Lithuania
- Maintain prudential safeguards and own funds at or above the class minimum
- Keep client crypto-assets segregated from the firm's own assets
- Run continuous AML/CFT monitoring, screening and suspicious-activity reporting
- Keep marketing communications fair, clear and not misleading
- Operate complaints handling and manage conflicts of interest
- Meet ICT resilience and incident-reporting duties under DORA
- File periodic reports to the national competent authority
Crypto license in Lithuania: FAQ
Yes. To provide crypto-asset services in Lithuania you need a MiCA CASP authorisation (Crypto-Asset Service Provider), supervised by the Bank of Lithuania, under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), Title V.
The Bank of Lithuania.
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.
The application file centres on programme of operations describing each crypto-asset service you will provide; business plan with three-year financial projections; evidence of prudential safeguards (own funds or qualifying insurance); governance arrangements, organisational chart and internal-control description; plus fit-and-proper evidence for directors and qualifying shareholders.
Incorporate a legal entity with a registered office in the member state, with at least one director resident in the EU. Build the application file: programme of operations, business plan, governance, AML/CFT, ICT resilience and client-asset segregation. The authority then assesses the file and, once authorised, you can begin operating.
Yes — a single MiCA CASP licence passports across all 27 EU member states.
Key points
Lithuania enacted its Law on Markets in Crypto-Assets on 11 July 2024, designating the Bank of Lithuania as the MiCA national competent authority (NCA) for CASPs, EMT and ART issuers from 30 December 2024.
Lithuania set a 31 December 2025 deadline for legacy VASPs to obtain MiCA CASP authorisation; from 1 January 2026 operating without a CASP licence is unlawful and subject to enforcement by both the Bank of Lithuania and FNTT, including fines, website blocking and criminal sanctions of up to 4 years' imprisonment.
Of roughly 324 previously registered crypto firms only a handful, reportedly three CASP licences as of January 2026, had been authorised under MiCA, reflecting a substantial market contraction.
The Board of the Bank of Lithuania has formally updated its Position on Crypto-Assets, classifying tokens (payment, utility, investment or hybrid) and clarifying when securities/prospectus rules apply, complementing MiCA's crypto-asset white paper regime.
Resolution No 2025/03-162 of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania (16 December 2025) sets specific knowledge, experience and qualification requirements for staff of CASPs, supplementing MiCA Level-2 standards.
There is no special crypto tax. Occasional individual gains are treated as income from disposal of personal property with a €2,500 non-taxable threshold; above that, a 15% (rising to 20% above 120× average wage) PIT applies. Corporate profits are taxed at the 15% CIT rate; crypto-fiat exchange is VAT-exempt under EU Hedqvist case law.
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