How to get a cryptolicense in Lithuania, Estonia, and Croatia

Cryptocurrency activity has not been regulated for a long time, which allowed not only honest users to make money, but also fraudsters to flourish and launder money to criminals. A few years ago, the EU also turned its attention to the cryptocurrency market. As a result, the 5th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive was issued, which obliged companies to obtain a cryptocurrency license in Europe. Its purpose is to protect customers from fraud, check the financial stability of the company, and prevent crime.

What to consider before licensing

Any country in Europe, which issues a cryptocurrency license, carefully checks the documents, so special attention should be paid to their execution. You should carefully examine not only the activity of the company, but also its owners and employees. It is important that no one has a criminal record and hasn’t been involved in scams.

Learn in advance about the peculiarities of obtaining a cryptocurrency license. The most popular countries for licensing are Lithuania, Estonia, and Croatia. Each of them has its own peculiarities, which were developed taking into account domestic legislation. For example, Estonia issues a single license, which allows both storage and exchange of cryptocurrency. Lithuania issues two licenses for cryptocurrency storage and exchange.

Lithuania

Lithuania is one of the best countries to obtain a cryptocurrency license. Financial transactions with cryptocurrency are legal, and the government offers a legal opportunity to conduct various transactions with it. To get a license, the applicant must register a limited liability company (LLC). Documents can be submitted remotely, and the procedure takes no longer than 2 weeks.

Mandatory requirements for a cryptocurrency license in Lithuania include the following:

• an authorized capital of at least €2500;
• a licensed employee who monitors and prevents fraud and money laundering;
• provide the regulator with detailed information about the real owner, employees of the company;
• a business plan with a clear description of the company's operations;
• the employees who will run the company must not have a criminal record.

The regulator examines the applicant's papers for 2 months. The period can be reduced to 2 weeks for an additional fee.

Estonia

Another comfortable country for digital is Estonia. Cryptocurrency is not a means of payment here, but is classified as a digital asset, and therefore the work with it is clearly regulated. After a thorough check, the license is issued by the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit, while the Financial Supervision Authority monitors the cryptocurrency sector.

It is possible to get a cryptolicense in Estonia by submitting an application online or after a personal visit to a notary. It is necessary to present the following documents:

• a CV that contains complete information about the real beneficiary;
• documents of the directors, which must necessarily include a resident of Estonia;
• contract of lease or sale, which confirms the legal address in Estonia;
• certificate of no criminal record;
• website address.

Before sending the documents, you must open a corporate account at a bank or non-bank and put the authorized capital for the cryptocompany of €12000.

Croatia

Croatia issues a license that allows you to engage in cryptocurrency exchange and store customer funds on crypto wallets. You can apply for a license remotely. There are no audit requirements, as well as no restrictions on turnover.

To obtain a cryptocurrency license in Croatia, a company must meet the following conditions:

• Share capital of €2700;
• One of the directors must have EU citizenship, experience in the financial sector;
• Official income of local director must be at least €800 (minimum level set in Croatia);
• There must be a licensed employee in the staff, who monitors and prevents money laundering, fraudulent transactions.
• A cryptocurrency company in Croatia pays tax only if they transfer it into local money or withdraw it to the account. Exchanges between different types of cryptocurrencies are not taxed.

How to get a cryptolicense in Europe

If you need to register a cryptocurrency business in Europe, contact IT-OFFSHORE experts and we will help you.