Crypto license in Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus regulates digital-asset businesses through registration as a ΠΥΚΣ — Πάροχος Υπηρεσιών Κρυπτοστοιχείων, the Greek-language designation used in the official Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) registers for what is internationally known as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP), also commonly…

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Before applying for a crypto licence, the operating business must first be incorporated in Cyprus. The simplest and most commonly used vehicle is the Private Company Limited by Shares (Ιδιωτική Εταιρεία Περιορισμένης Ευθύνης) — the Cyprus equivalent of an LLC — which is the recommended default structure for licensed activities. Other legal forms (Public Company Limited by Shares, Company Limited by Guarantee, partnerships, branches of overseas companies, European Company/SE, and European Economic Interest Groupings) are also available in Cyprus for specific situations (see Basic company reference), but the private limited company remains the standard base entity for regulated business.

Companies are incorporated and maintained on the central register operated by the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property (DRCOR), under the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry. DRCOR's stages of a company's lifecycle include incorporation (Σύσταση Εταιρείας), ongoing operational filings such as the Annual Return and Financial Statements, and termination/reinstatement. Cyprus company law is generally based on the Companies Law, Cap. 113.

For a private limited company, a registered office in Cyprus and a company secretary are statutory requirements. DRCOR also operates a mandatory Register of Beneficial Owners (Μητρώο Πραγματικών Δικαιούχων), so beneficial ownership information must be declared and kept current for the company.

For corporate banking, Bank of Cyprus is one of the country's largest banking groups, offering business and corporate account services. RCB Bank, historically a Cyprus banking licence holder, surrendered its banking licence and exited banking operations in October 2022 (now operating as a regulated asset management company), so it should not be relied upon for new corporate account opening.

Cyprus is an EU member state, meaning a Cyprus CASP/VASP authorisation issued under CySEC and MiCA is designed to operate within the EU's harmonised crypto-asset framework. CySEC is the competent authority for MiCA in Cyprus and maintains dedicated supervisory infrastructure for the sector, including the MiCAR - ΠΥΚΣ register (current Crypto-Asset Service Providers under MiCAR), a legacy register for former MiCAR-CASPs, a Crypto-asset entities (MiCAR) section under its Supervised Entities area, and a published crypto fee schedule (Τέλη Κρυπτονομισμάτων). CySEC has also issued recent supervisory notices addressed to the sector, including guidance on the end of the MiCA transitional period and a circular on money-laundering/terrorist-financing risks following that transition, and it operates a Regulatory Sandbox as a testing environment for innovative crypto-asset solutions.

Under Cyprus's AML/CFT legislation and MiCA, a licensed CASP/VASP must maintain a local office and bank account in Cyprus, a qualified management team, and KYC and data-protection systems, and must comply with applicable EU directives. Regulated activities under this framework include crypto-to-fiat exchange, crypto asset management, exchange operations, ICOs, investment advice, and portfolio management. There is no restriction on cryptocurrency mining in Cyprus.

A licensed CASP/VASP in Cyprus is required to maintain a qualified management team as part of its local substance, alongside the KYC and data-protection systems needed to support ongoing compliance.

Cyprus regulates digital-asset businesses through registration as a ΠΥΚΣ — Πάροχος Υπηρεσιών Κρυπτοστοιχείων, the Greek-language designation used in the official Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) registers for what is internationally known as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP), also commonly referred to as a VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider). Since 2021, registration as a CASP/VASP has been mandatory under Cyprus's AML/CFT legislation, and since late 2024 Cyprus also operates under the EU-wide Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which CySEC supervises as the national competent authority. A Cyprus CASP/VASP authorisation allows a company to provide digital-asset services both within Cyprus and to clients in other jurisdictions.

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• Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission