When Do You Need a Crypto License? The Activities That Trigger One
You need a crypto license when you provide crypto services to clients as a business. That means exchanging crypto for money, swapping one crypto for another, sending crypto for clients, holding it for them, or running a platform where they trade. What triggers a licence is the activity, not the word "crypto" in your company name.
The exact list depends on the country. Below are the three lists most founders meet: the FATF standard, the EU’s MiCA and Hong Kong’s anti-money laundering law. Each links to its source.
The rule in one table
| Activity for clients | FATF (VASP) | EU (MiCA) | Hong Kong today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange crypto for money | Yes | Yes | Licensed if done on a trading platform |
| Exchange crypto for other crypto | Yes | Yes | Licensed if done on a trading platform |
| Run a trading platform | Covered by exchange | Yes | Yes, SFC licence |
| Hold crypto or keys for clients | Yes | Yes | New custodian licence planned |
| Transfer crypto for clients | Yes | Yes | Not a separate licence today |
| Execute or pass on client orders | Not listed | Yes | Planned dealer licence |
| Advice or portfolio management | Not listed | Yes | Separate new licences proposed |
| Help an issuer sell a token | Yes | Yes, as placing | Not a VA licence today |
The table simplifies. The sections below give each law’s own words.
The FATF list: five activities
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) sets the global standard. Its glossary defines a virtual asset service provider (VASP). A VASP is a person who "as a business conducts one or more of the following activities". Those activities are done "for or on behalf of another natural or legal person". The five are:
- exchange between virtual assets and fiat currencies
- exchange between one or more forms of virtual assets
- transfer of virtual assets
- safekeeping and/or administration of virtual assets or instruments enabling control over virtual assets
- participation in and provision of financial services related to an issuer’s offer and/or sale of a virtual asset
The FATF does not issue licences. It asks each country to license or register VASPs. So the FATF list tells you which activities countries are expected to catch. Your own country’s law tells you what you actually need.
Source: FATF Glossary. Our guide on what a VASP is explains the definition in more detail.
The EU list under MiCA: ten services
In the EU, the trigger is providing a "crypto-asset service". MiCA’s Article 59 says a person "shall not provide crypto-asset services, within the Union" without permission. Permission means authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider. Some financial firms, such as banks, may offer the services under a separate route in MiCA.
Article 3 lists the services. A crypto-asset service means any of these, relating to any crypto-asset:
- providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients
- operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets
- exchange of crypto-assets for funds
- exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets
- execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients
- placing of crypto-assets
- reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients
- providing advice on crypto-assets
- providing portfolio management on crypto-assets
- providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients
This is a wider list than the FATF’s. Advice and portfolio management, for example, need MiCA authorisation even though they are not in the FATF’s five.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, Articles 3 and 59, published June 2023.
The Hong Kong rule today: running a VA exchange
Hong Kong’s list is shorter, for now. Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO), Cap. 615, a "VA service" means "operating a VA exchange". The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) licenses these trading platforms.
So today, the Hong Kong crypto trigger is running a trading platform. The government has also consulted on licences for crypto advice and for managing clients’ crypto, as a further step. Dealing with clients one to one, as an over-the-counter desk does, and holding clients’ keys are set to get their own licences. The government says it aims to put that bill to the Legislative Council in 2026. Our guide to Hong Kong’s planned crypto license for OTC dealers explains who it will cover.
Money changing and remittance are a different trigger. They need a Money Service Operator licence from Customs. For the choice between the two, see whether your Hong Kong company needs a crypto license or an MSO licence.
Source: Cap. 615 on Hong Kong e-Legislation, updated September 2026.
Three tests that decide most cases
Whatever the country, the same three questions usually decide whether a licence is needed.
- Is it for clients? Every list above covers services to other people. Trading your own crypto with your own money is usually not a licensed activity.
- Is it a business? The FATF says "as a business". MiCA says "on a professional basis". A one-off favour for a friend is not the same as a service you offer.
- Where are the clients? A licence is needed where you serve people, not only where your company is based. Marketing to a country’s residents often counts as serving them.
Activities that often do not trigger a crypto licence
These are usually outside the lists above. They can still be caught by other rules, so check before you rely on them.
- Selling software that users run themselves, without holding their crypto.
- Mining or staking on your own account.
- Accepting crypto as payment for your own goods or services.
- Writing general education about crypto, without personal advice.
What happens if you start without one
Every one of these laws treats the licence as a condition of doing the business, not a formality after it. MiCA’s Article 59 is written as a ban: a person "shall not provide crypto-asset services" in the EU without permission. Hong Kong’s AMLO works the same way. Carrying on a business of providing a VA service without a licence is a contravention of its section 53ZRD(1).
So the order matters. Scope the activities first, then apply, then launch. A business that launches first and applies later has to explain to the regulator why it was already serving clients.
When you are close to the line
Many businesses are not clearly in or out. A wallet app may or may not control keys. A payment app may pass crypto through its own accounts for a few seconds. Small design choices like these decide which side you are on.
For an outside view on your own case, see crypto licence scoping support.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a crypto license to trade crypto?
Not to trade your own crypto. You need one when you trade, exchange or hold crypto for clients as a business.
Do I need a crypto license for a crypto wallet?
It depends on who controls the keys. Holding clients’ crypto or keys is a listed activity under both the FATF standard and MiCA. A wallet where only the user holds the keys is often outside the lists.
Does crypto advice need a licence in the EU?
Yes. Providing advice on crypto-assets is one of the ten crypto-asset services in MiCA’s Article 3.
What triggers a crypto license in Hong Kong today?
Operating a VA exchange, under Cap. 615. New licences for dealers and custodians are planned.
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*Sources: FATF Glossary; Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA), Articles 3 and 59 (published June 2023); Hong Kong Cap. 615 (updated September 2026).*