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🇱🇹 Lithuania CASP — EU Access

Lithuania — CASP (MiCA) licence.

Lithuania's Crypto Asset Service Provider registration is the fastest EU MiCA-aligned pathway, providing passporting across all 27 EU member states.

Timeline
6—12 wk
CASP under MiCA
Min. Capital
EUR 50—150K
Class dependent
Year-1 Cost
EUR 150—250K
Year-one · fully loaded
Regulator
LB
Bank of Lithuania
01 — Is this right for you?

A considered route,
not a shortcut.

This jurisdiction rewards operators who treat the application as the start of a supervisory relationship.

A strong fit

When this is the right choice

EU-targeting crypto operators
Lithuania CASP under MiCA delivers full single-market passporting across all 27 EU member states — no parallel licensing required.
Crypto exchanges, brokers, and custodians
MiCA Article 60—85 services map directly to standard institutional crypto activity: exchange, custody, brokerage, advice, and order execution.
Operators wanting fast EU entry
Lithuania remains the fastest CASP route in the EU — 6—12 weeks to grant where Germany or France typically take 6—12 months for equivalent permissions.
A poor fit

When to consider an alternative

Non-EU-targeting operators
If your customer base is wholly outside the EU, the substance, capital, and ongoing compliance overhead of a Lithuania CASP is not justified. Labuan or UAE are better fits.
Operators expecting light-touch supervision
MiCA is a full institutional financial-services regime. Capital adequacy, audit, AML/CFT, conduct, and prudential requirements are real and continuously supervised.
Stablecoin issuers
Stablecoin issuance falls under MiCA's ART/EMT regime, which is separate from CASP. Issuer authorisation is materially more onerous than service-provider authorisation.
02 — Licence categories

Permissions under
one Act.

Choosing the right tier and scope is the most consequential decision in the application.

CASP under MiCA

The unified Crypto-Asset Service Provider authorisation under EU MiCA Regulation 2023/1114. Covers exchange, brokerage, custody, transfer, advice, portfolio management, placement, and reception/transmission of orders.

EMI / Payment Institution

Lithuania remains one of the EU's fastest routes to an Electronic Money Institution or Payment Institution authorisation — often paired with CASP for an integrated regulated payments + crypto operation.

ART / EMT Issuer (separate)

Stablecoin issuance under MiCA's Asset-Referenced Token or E-Money Token regime is a separate, materially more onerous authorisation. We advise on positioning even when our primary engagement is the CASP track.

03 — Path to grant

Phases to licence grant.

Corporate setup

Weeks 1—2

Lithuanian subsidiary incorporated, local director or compliance officer appointed, AML programme and IT security framework established to Bank of Lithuania standards.

CASP filing

Weeks 3—5

CASP application submitted to the Bank of Lithuania including all MiCA-required documentation — capital evidence, business plan, governance structure, and AML policies.

LB review & Q&A

Weeks 6—10

Bank of Lithuania reviews the application and may issue queries. Lithuania's dedicated fintech desk typically responds constructively and within published timelines.

Authorisation

Weeks 10—12

CASP authorisation issued. EU-wide passporting rights activated across all 27 member states. Ongoing supervisory obligations and annual reporting commence.

04 — Year-one economics

Cost and regulatory
burden.

Year-one spend is dominated by substance — resident director, office, compliance officer, external audit — not the licence fee itself.

Cost itemAmount
Application & licence fees Included in EUR 150—250K
Regulatory capital EUR 50—150K
Annual audit & compliance 40,000 — 90,000
Local director & substance 60,000 — 140,000 / year
Year-1 total (loaded) EUR 150—250K

Tax and regulatory treatment varies by jurisdiction — figures above reflect typical year-one operational loadings for an active operator with real onshore substance.

05 — Common questions

What founders
ask before filing.

The questions we get on every diagnostic call. If yours isn't here, raise it in the consultation.

Lithuania ran a national VASP register under the Anti-Money Laundering law until MiCA took effect. From 30 December 2024, new entrants must apply directly for CASP authorisation. Existing VASP-registered firms have transitional rights to operate during a defined migration window while pursuing full CASP authorisation. The CASP regime is materially more onerous than legacy VASP — proper capital, audit, prudential, and conduct requirements all apply.
Yes — that is the entire point of MiCA. A CASP authorised in any EU member state can passport into all other 26 member states by simple notification, without local re-licensing. This is the structural advantage of MiCA over the previous patchwork of national crypto regimes.
A Lithuania-incorporated company with a real Vilnius (or other Lithuanian city) office, a Lithuania-resident director (or sufficiently engaged board), an in-country AML compliance officer, and demonstrable senior-management engagement. The Bank of Lithuania conducts substance reviews and is materially less tolerant of brass-plate structures than the predecessor regime.
Lithuania remains the fastest and most operator-pragmatic EU CASP route in 2026 — typically 6—12 weeks to grant. Germany (BaFin), France (AMF), and the Netherlands (DNB) deliver equivalent passporting but take 6—12 months and demand materially higher institutional substance. Lithuania is the entry route; many operators add a secondary regulated entity in a larger member state once scale justifies it.
Annual audited accounts, quarterly prudential reporting to the Bank of Lithuania, AML/CFT reporting, conduct-of-business compliance, capital adequacy maintenance, and notification of material changes in ownership or key personnel. MiCA-driven ESMA-level reporting requirements are layered on top of national supervision.
06 — Adjacent jurisdictions

Often considered
alongside this.

Operators rarely choose a jurisdiction in isolation. These are the regimes most often weighed against it — or run in parallel.

France — AMF DASP
AMF DASP
El Salvador — CNAD
CNAD
Malaysia — Labuan FSA
Labuan FSA
Mauritius — FSC
FSC
Ready when you are

Tell us where
you want to
operate.

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