COREDO > Licensing > Crypto Licence > Crypto Licence (CASP) in Latvia

Crypto Licence (CASP) in Latvia

A crypto licence (CASP) in Latvia opens the whole EU market to your project: a single Latvijas Banka authorisation lets you serve clients in any EU country. Exchange, custody, transfers or your own trading platform — you choose the services that fit your business model.

COREDO has been guiding licensing projects since 2016 and takes care of the application, your internal MiCA policies, the DORA requirements matrix and the dialogue with the regulator through to authorisation. You focus on the product and the team; we handle the regulatory side.

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Cost of the service
from EUR 45,000

Regulatory Framework: MiCA and the Latvian Crypto-Asset Services Law

Crypto businesses in Latvia operate under a single set of European rules: the MiCA Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114) has applied across the EU since 30 December 2024. Only authorised companies may provide crypto-asset services, so the licence must be obtained before the product launches. The regulation calls it an authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP); in practice, it is usually called a licence.

The national rules are set by the Latvian Crypto-Asset Services Law, which entered into force on 30 June 2024 and designated Latvijas Banka (the Bank of Latvia) as the competent authority. The bank receives applications, issues licences and supervises licensed firms, and it has been accepting MiCA licence applications since 2 January 2025. The regulator issued the first Latvian CASP licence on 3 December 2025 and another one on 18 June 2026.

The third act is DORA (Regulation (EU) 2022/2554) on digital operational resilience, which has applied since 17 January 2025 and covers authorised CASPs.

Types of Crypto Licences in Latvia

The licence class determines which services you may provide and how much minimum capital your company needs. The services are listed in the authorisation itself, so at the outset we map your business model against the MiCA list and choose the class that covers your product without unnecessary costs.

Class 1 — Minimum Capital EUR 50,000

Suited to brokers, advisers, portfolio managers and transfer services that do not need custody of client assets or exchange:

execution of orders on behalf of clients;
placing of crypto-assets;
transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;
reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;
advice on crypto-assets;
portfolio management of crypto-assets.

Class 2 — Minimum Capital EUR 125,000

The class for exchange services and custodial wallets: it includes all Class 1 services and adds:

custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;
exchange of crypto-assets for funds;
exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets.

Class 3 — Minimum Capital EUR 150,000

The licence for a crypto exchange: this class includes all Class 2 services and adds the operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets.

Advantages of Obtaining a CASP Licence in Latvia

One licence — the whole EU market.

A Latvian CASP licence is valid throughout the European Union under the MiCA passporting mechanism, so you do not need separate permits in each country. You can serve clients in other EU countries remotely, without a physical presence in each of them.

A regulator open to dialogue.

Latvijas Banka holds pre-licensing consultations and is already issuing CASP licences. As part of the pre-assessment, we arrange a meeting with the bank before you apply.

Capital can be contributed in crypto-assets.

Latvian law allows crypto-assets to be contributed to share capital in kind, subject to independent valuation and compliance with legal requirements. For a project with its own reserve of digital assets, this simplifies building up the capital.

Freedom in your ownership structure.

There are no restrictions on shareholder residency, so you keep your existing group structure.

Tax only on distributed profit.

In Latvia, the 20% corporate income tax is paid on the profit a company distributes, while reinvested profit is taxed at 0%.

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Cost of COREDO Services

Service	Price
CASP authorisation package, Classes 1 and 2	EUR 45,000 + VAT
CASP authorisation package, Class 3	EUR 55,000 + VAT

The price includes:

preparation and submission of the full licence application to Latvijas Banka;
drafting of MiCA policies: AML, risk management, IT security, corporate governance, safeguarding procedures and the operating model;
guidance on preparing the business plan and a DORA regulatory requirements matrix;
communication with Latvijas Banka throughout the review;
support through the procedure until the authorisation is issued.

Application Pre-Assessment — EUR 5,000 + VAT

This is COREDO’s own service: we analyse your project in detail before submission. It is optional and ordered separately from the authorisation package, and your company does not yet need to be incorporated for it. Latvijas Banka does not charge for the meeting itself; the EUR 5,000 + VAT covers COREDO’s work. The pre-assessment includes:

collecting information on shareholders, directors, the type of initial capital and the origin of funds;
analysing the planned business model and the selected services;
advice on the applicable regulation and the documents to be submitted;
help with the draft application and organising a meeting with Latvijas Banka.

Additional Services

Not included in the package:

Service	Price
Company formation	from EUR 3,000 + VAT
Corporate bank account opening	EUR 5,000 + VAT
Physical office	depends on size and location
Appointment and employment of officers	on request
Accounting services	on request
Share capital contribution	on request

We quote the exact price for your project and scope of services once we know your business case, and fix it in the contract.

Regulatory Fees and Payment Terms

Latvijas Banka’s fees are not included in COREDO’s price: you pay them directly to the regulator, on top of the package price.

Latvijas Banka fee	Amount
Review of the licence application	EUR 2,500
Annual supervisory levy	up to 0.6% of annual gross income from crypto-asset services, but not less than EUR 3,000 per year

The minimum capital for your class is not a payment for COREDO’s services either: it is your company’s own funds, which stay on its balance sheet.

Payment terms. We set out the payment schedule for COREDO’s services in the contract. Before the project starts, we carry out a standard KYC/AML check — this is how we work with every client.

CASP Requirements in Latvia

MiCA requirements are the same in every EU country, and Latvijas Banka checks them against your documents and team.

Capital and Prudential Requirements

The minimum share capital depends on the class: EUR 50,000 for Class 1, EUR 125,000 for Class 2 and EUR 150,000 for Class 3. The company’s own funds must at all times be no lower than the higher of two amounts: the minimum capital or one quarter of the previous year’s fixed overheads. A new company calculates that quarter from its projected expenses for the first 12 months of operation.

Management and Key Roles

The management body has several directors, and at least one of them is an EU resident. The team usually needs a CEO, MLRO, CTO, internal auditor and risk specialist, and we recommend hiring the MLRO and the risk specialist in Latvia. Managers demonstrate good repute, knowledge, skills and experience, while holders of qualifying holdings demonstrate good repute. We review each candidate’s file in advance and advise on how best to present their experience to the bank.

Office and Management in the EU

The company’s registered office is in the EU country where it provides at least part of its services — for a Latvian licence, that is Latvia. The place of effective management must be in the EU, and the structure and headcount must match the scale and nature of the services. COREDO will handle company formation in Latvia as a separate service.

AML/KYC

The company verifies its clients, assesses their risks and monitors transactions, and in the application it shows its working procedures for risk assessment and internal control. We develop the AML policy and related procedures around your products, geography and client types.

Safeguarding Client Assets

Clients’ crypto-assets and funds are kept separate from the company’s own assets, and clients’ ownership rights are protected by internal procedures. Client funds are placed with a credit institution or with Latvijas Banka itself by the end of the following working day at the latest. We write the safeguarding procedures around your custody model.

IT Security and DORA

The application includes technical documentation of the ICT systems and security measures, and DORA adds an approved ICT internal audit plan and regular audits within the plan’s timeframes.

List of Documents

We tailor the list to your licence class. Your team prepares the information on the owners, managers and the company, the business plan and the description of the IT infrastructure.

Shareholders, Directors and MLRO

Basic information: full names, addresses, nationality, identity documents; for directors, places of residence over the last ten years.
Criminal record certificates for all beneficial owners (UBOs), directors and the MLRO — not older than 3 months.
Detailed CVs of all UBOs, directors and the MLRO.
Statements by directors and the MLRO on the time they devote to the company and on their past professional conduct.
Proof of fitness and propriety: knowledge, skills, experience and good repute.
Explanation of conflicts of interest and financial interests.

Company and Business Model

Company registration details.
Operational plan with a detailed business plan and a 3-year financial forecast.
Audited financial statements for the last three years — for companies already in operation, if an audit has been carried out.
Evidence of meeting prudential requirements: capital and the calculation of own funds.

Policies and IT

Internal control and risk: risk assessment procedures, including money laundering and terrorist financing risks, and a business continuity plan.
Segregation procedure for clients’ crypto-assets and funds; where client assets are held in custody, a custody and administration policy.
Description of the ICT infrastructure and security measures, and DORA compliance documentation.
Any other information and documents that Latvijas Banka requests.

Procedure for Obtaining a CASP Licence in Latvia

The project goes through five stages, and at each one it is clear what COREDO does, what your team prepares and what the regulator does.

Application Pre-Assessment (Optional, Before Submission)

We help prepare a draft application and arrange a meeting with Latvijas Banka, so you receive feedback on your project before the company is even incorporated. The cost of this stage is EUR 5,000 + VAT.

01

Preparation (Timeline Set After Analysing Your Business Case)

COREDO analyses the business case, collects documents and prepares the legal and AML package and basic ICT documentation. In parallel, the account is opened, the share capital is paid in and staff are hired.

02

Preparing and Submitting the Application to Latvijas Banka (Acknowledgement of Receipt — Within 5 Working Days)

We put the complete application together, check it against MiCA requirements and submit it to Latvijas Banka, and you pay the regulator’s review fee.

03

Communication with Latvijas Banka During the Review (25 + 40 Working Days)

First, the bank checks whether the application is complete, and it has 25 working days from receipt to do so. It then assesses the application on its merits and decides within 40 working days of receiving the complete application. All the regulator’s questions come to us: we prepare the answers and agree them with you.

04

Receiving the Authorisation (Notification — Within 5 Working Days of the Decision)

Latvijas Banka notifies you of its decision within five working days of taking it, and the authorisation lists the services you are permitted to provide. On request, we prepare the notification for operating in other EU countries as a separate service.

05

Our Experts

The CASP licensing project in Latvia is supported by COREDO’s leading specialists.

Pavel Kos

Head of Legal. Has been with COREDO since June 2017 and has headed the legal team since July 2020. Possesses extensive experience in supporting financial licensing projects in the Czech Republic and other EU jurisdictions.

Alena Mach

Executive Director

Nikita Veremeev

Founder & NED

Gregory Lutsenko

Head of Compliance

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if Latvijas Banka requests additional information?

During the assessment on the merits, the bank may request missing information no later than the 20th working day, and while it awaits your reply the review period is suspended for no more than 20 working days. If the application itself turns out to be incomplete, the bank sets a deadline for completing it.

How do we start operating in other EU countries after receiving the licence?

You send Latvijas Banka a notification listing the countries, the services you will provide there and the start date. You may begin operating in those countries from the moment you receive the bank’s communication, and no later than from the 15th calendar day after submitting the information. Both routes are open to you: a branch or providing services remotely.

Can the licence be extended as the business grows?

Yes. To add services — for example, to move from exchange to a trading platform — the company submits an application to Latvijas Banka to extend its authorisation. It is reviewed under the same procedure as the initial application, and when moving up to a higher class, the capital is brought up to that class’s minimum. That is why we advise building the services you will need in the first three years into your business plan from the start.

What needs to be agreed with the regulator after the licence is granted?

The bank must be notified of changes to the management body before the new members take up their duties, and of other material changes without delay. The acquisition of a holding that reaches 20%, 30% or 50% is assessed by the regulator within 60 working days. For the period after licensing, COREDO offers legal protection for businesses in Latvia and AML audits.

How are a crypto company's profits taxed in Latvia?

As long as profit stays in the company, the corporate income tax rate is 0%; when dividends are paid, the profit is taxed once, at company level, at 20%. The tax base is calculated by dividing the amount paid out by a coefficient of 0.8. COREDO can add accounting support for your Latvian company on request.

Which EU AML rules should we plan for?

Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 on information accompanying transfers of crypto-assets has applied since 30 December 2024, and we build its requirements for originator and beneficiary data into your procedures from the outset. The EU’s single AML regulation — Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 — will apply from 10 July 2027. We write your AML policy so that it is easy to update by that date.

Contact Us

Tell us which crypto-asset services you are planning and what stage your project is at. We will choose the right licence class, quote a price for your scope of work and propose a plan for preparing your application to Latvijas Banka.

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