VASP License in the EU
What a VASP license was
VASP stands for virtual asset service provider, a term coined by the FATF for its AML recommendations. Between 2018 and 2024, most EU countries implemented it as a national registration: the Estonian FIU license, the Lithuanian FNTT registration, the French PSAN status, the Polish VASP register, the Czech trade-license notification. Each covered one country, each had its own scope, and none gave the right to serve clients across the EU.
These regimes were AML registrations rather than full licenses. The regulator vetted owners and the AML officer, and the rest of the business stayed largely outside supervision. That is exactly what MiCA was designed to replace.
What changed with MiCA
MiCA introduced a single EU-wide category, the crypto-asset service provider (CASP), with a prudential authorization that covers all 27 member states through passporting. National VASP regimes in the EU were repealed, with transitional periods that let existing registrants keep operating while their CASP application was under review. Member states set their own cut-off dates, and most shortened the default window.
As of August 2026, those transitional windows have run out across the EU. A national VASP registration no longer works as a standalone legal basis for onboarding EU clients. The operating question has shifted from "VASP or CASP" to "which member state to file the CASP application in".
What to do with an old VASP registration
The practical paths depend on where you stand:
- You filed a CASP application before your national cut-off. You are in the review pipeline; the priority is answering regulator requests fast and keeping the file complete. The process itself is covered on our MiCA CASP license page.
- You missed the cut-off. The old registration does not carry over. You need a fresh CASP authorization, and until it is granted there is no clean basis to serve EU clients. Jurisdiction choice becomes the first decision, compared on the EU crypto licensing overview.
- You target markets outside the EU. National VASP-style regimes remain alive outside the union. Depending on the client base, options such as El Salvador, Panama, or Seychelles still issue registrations, and the full list lives in our crypto licensing catalog.
VASP as a search term versus VASP as a legal status
The term VASP survives in FATF documents, in non-EU national laws, and in everyday speech. As a legal status inside the EU it is finished: contracts, banking questionnaires, and compliance reviews now ask for the CASP authorization number, the home regulator, and the passporting notifications. If a counterparty in the EU offers you a "VASP license" as a current product, treat it as a red flag and check what legal basis actually stands behind it.
This page reflects the state of play as of August 2026. Country-level details change as regulators publish their registers, so verify the position of a specific member state with a specialist before making structural decisions.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
Not as a standalone basis. EU transitional periods for national VASP registrations have expired, and serving EU clients now requires CASP authorization under MiCA. Old registrations matter only as history in your regulatory file.
The registration does not convert automatically. You apply for CASP authorization as a new entrant, choosing the member state on regulator practice, language, and substance costs. Until authorization is granted, EU client onboarding has no clean legal basis.
VASP is the FATF term used by pre-MiCA national regimes: one country, AML-focused registration. CASP is the MiCA category: a prudential EU authorization with capital requirements, conduct rules, and passporting across all 27 member states.
Yes, outside the EU. Jurisdictions such as El Salvador, Panama, and Seychelles run national crypto registration regimes. They cover their own markets and do not grant access to EU clients.
