Head of International Corporate Law and Fintech Practice
Expert in fintech, crypto, and international corporate law with over 20 years of experience. Specializes in crypto licensing (VASP/CASP), iGaming business support, and international structuring, asset protection, and OSINT analytics for risk assessment and due diligence.
License to trade cryptocurrencies
Trading cryptocurrencies without proper legal status increasingly leads to account blocking, asset freezing, and problems with banks and regulators. A license or other legal status for a crypto service allows you to work with banks, attract investors, and scale your business without the constant risk of being blocked.
What does a crypto license give you?
Legalization of a crypto project opens up a number of advantages for businesses:
- The ability to officially provide cryptocurrency buying and selling, exchanging and storing services to clients in different jurisdictions.
- Connection to banks, payment providers, merchant acquirers and fiat gateway providers.
- Increased trust among investors and partners due to a transparent structure and compliance with AML/KYC requirements.
- The ability to legally advertise and develop a product, rather than hiding in the “gray zone.”
CASP Regulation (MiCA, VASP, crypto licenses)
In the EU, the basic model for crypto business is gradually becoming the CASP (Crypto-Asset Service Provider) status under the MiCA regulation. Similar regimes exist outside the EU – such as VASP, crypto exchange and custodial licenses in individual countries.
The most common business formats:
- Exchange of crypto assets for fiat and other crypto assets (classical exchanges, brokers, OTC desks).
- Custodial wallets and storage of clients’ private keys.
- Acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for merchants (payment gateway).
- P2P trading platforms with AML/KYC implementation and transaction monitoring.
The Prikhodko & Partners team helps to structure the business so that the chosen business model corresponds to a specific type of permit (CASP, VASP or local crypto license), and the document flow, policies and contracts do not contradict the requirements of the regulator from the very beginning.
Popular jurisdictions: EU, UAE, Hong Kong
EU countries (CASP / VASP)
More and more entrepreneurs are choosing European jurisdictions with transparent CASP regulation (for example, individual EU countries where MiCA procedures have already been launched or are being prepared). A key advantage is the “passporting” of services within the EU after obtaining the status of a crypto service provider in one of the countries.
UAE (Dubai, ADGM, VARA)
The UAE has established itself as one of the global crypto hubs with separate regimes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. There are special regulators (in particular VARA and ADGM) that issue permits for exchange, brokerage, custodial and other crypto-related activities.
For business, this means:
- Focus on international clients and investors, including those from the Middle East and Asia.
- Flexible but formalized capital, compliance, and risk management requirements.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is actively developing its own licensing regime for crypto exchanges and infrastructure projects. The regulator is introducing a separate license for virtual assets, which allows it to work with retail and professional investors under clearly defined rules.
Hong Kong is interesting for:
- Structuring projects focused on Asian markets.
- Projects that plan to attract institutional investors and build a long-term presence in the region.
What licensing services do we provide?
The Prikhodko & Partners team supports crypto projects on a turnkey basis – from idea to obtaining a permit to operate. Main areas of work:
- Analysis of the business model and selection of the optimal jurisdiction (EU, UAE, Asia, etc.) taking into account the tax burden, capital requirements and the reputation of the regulator.
- Development of the corporate structure: founders, holding companies, operating legal entities, bank accounts, payment providers.
- Preparation of a full package of documents for licensing: AML/KYC policies, financial monitoring procedures, internal regulations, contracts with clients and counterparties.
- Support of communication with the regulator: responses to requests, finalization of documents, argumentation of the business structure.
- Post-licensing support: updating policies, adaptation to changes in legislation, preparation for inspections.
How does the process of obtaining a license work?
In most cases, the procedure looks like this:
- Project diagnostics. We analyze the current or planned business model, customer geography, transaction volumes, risk profile.
- Choice of jurisdiction and type of permit. We offer 2–3 optimal options taking into account your priorities (taxes, image, substance requirements, terms of obtaining a license).
- Structuring and company. We prepare the structure of a group of companies, statutory documents, founders’ decisions, assist with opening accounts (including EMI/fintech solutions).
- Compliance documents. We develop AML/KYC policies, risk management procedures, a description of the business model for the regulator, contract templates and offers.
- Submission of documents and support to the regulator. We form a package, submit it to the relevant authority and support the review, including responses to additional requests.
- After obtaining a license. We set up regular reporting, policy updates, and employee training on AML/KYC and operational procedures.
Prikhodko & Partners helps clients with crypto licensing comprehensively: we analyze the business model and select the optimal jurisdiction (including under CASP in the EU, as well as in the UAE or Hong Kong), design a corporate structure that is convenient for the regulator, prepare a full package of legal and compliance documents, support filing and communication with regulators, and after obtaining a license, we support policy updates, reporting, and setting up internal procedures so that the client can safely scale their crypto business.
To receive a consultation and find out the cost of obtaining a license to trade cryptocurrencies with our help, please fill out the form below.
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