Obtain a Crypto License in Romania

Investors who open a crypto company that will provide services such as the exchange, custody or trading of crypto-assets must obtain a crypto license in Romania. Since 30 December 2024, this license is the authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, known as MiCA), which applies directly in Romania and in all other EU Member States.
 
In this article, our experts in company formation in Romania highlight the main rules applicable to crypto companies and the conditions for obtaining the crypto-asset service provider (CASP) authorisation.
 
For complete solutions related to business creation, please do not hesitate to reach out to our team.

What types of companies need a crypto license in Romania?

Companies that provide crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis need a MiCA authorisation as crypto-asset service providers. Crypto-asset services include:

• custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;
• operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;
• exchange of crypto-assets for funds (fiat currency) or for other crypto-assets;
• execution of orders, and reception and transmission of orders, for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;
• placing of crypto-assets;
• providing advice on crypto-assets and portfolio management of crypto-assets;
• providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients.

The authorisation is granted by the competent authority of the Member State where the company has its registered office. A provider authorised in Romania can offer its services in other EU Member States, and a provider authorised in another Member State can offer its services in Romania, based on the notification procedure provided by MiCA. Authorised providers are listed in the public register kept by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

Credit institutions, investment firms, electronic money institutions and certain other regulated financial entities may provide certain crypto-asset services after notifying their competent authority, without a separate CASP authorisation.

What are the conditions for obtaining a crypto license in Romania?

Under MiCA, an applicant for authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider must meet, among others, the following conditions:

• be a legal person with its registered office in the Member State where it applies and where it carries out at least part of its services; a company incorporated in Romania under Law 31/1990 applies in Romania;
• have its place of effective management in the EU, with at least one director resident in the EU;
• have members of the management body of sufficiently good repute and with appropriate knowledge, skills and experience, as well as suitable shareholders with qualifying holdings;
• have sound governance arrangements, internal control and risk management, business continuity and ICT security arrangements;
• have policies on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, complaints handling, conflicts of interest and the safekeeping and segregation of clients’ crypto-assets and funds;
• meet the prudential requirements described below.

Crypto-asset service providers must at all times hold prudential safeguards (own funds, an insurance policy or a combination of both) at least equal to the higher of one quarter of their fixed overheads for the preceding year and a permanent minimum capital that depends on the services provided:

• EUR 50,000 for services such as reception and transmission of orders, execution of orders, placing, advice, portfolio management and transfer services;
• EUR 125,000 for providers that also offer custody and administration of crypto-assets or the exchange of crypto-assets for funds or for other crypto-assets;
• EUR 150,000 for providers that operate a trading platform for crypto-assets.

The national rules implementing MiCA in Romania, including the designation of the competent authorities and the sanctions regime, should be checked at the time of the application. Our team can provide updated information upon request.

What other laws apply to companies holding a crypto license in Romania?

Investors who wish to register a company in Romania that will offer crypto-asset services must also comply with the rules on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Law no. 129/2019 on the prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorist financing was amended in March 2025 to align it with MiCA. The law now uses the notions of “crypto-asset” and “crypto-asset service provider” as defined by MiCA, and crypto-asset service providers are among the entities that must apply the anti-money laundering rules.

Our team specializing in company formation in Romania highlights some of the main obligations of crypto-asset service providers under these rules:

• apply customer due diligence measures, including the identification and verification of clients and their beneficial owners;
• monitor transactions and report suspicious transactions to the National Office for the Prevention and Control of Money Laundering;
• keep records of client identification data and transactions for the period required by law;
• adopt internal policies and procedures and designate the persons responsible for anti-money laundering compliance.

MiCA defines the main notions as follows:

• a crypto-asset is a digital representation of a value or of a right that can be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;
• a crypto-asset service provider is a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services under MiCA.

In addition to the local laws, crypto companies in Romania must observe other EU rules, including:

• Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets (the “travel rule”), under which information on the originator and the beneficiary must accompany transfers of crypto-assets;
• Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 on digital operational resilience (DORA), which sets requirements for ICT risk management, incident reporting and resilience testing.

Romanian crypto companies pay corporate income tax of 16%, and dividends are taxed at 16%. Gains obtained by individuals from transfers of crypto-assets are taxed at 16% from 2026.

Crypto license application assistance

Our team can assist investors who wish to register a company in Romania that will provide crypto-asset services, from the incorporation of the company to the preparation of the MiCA authorisation application, including the programme of operations, the internal policies and the documents concerning the management and the shareholders.

For investors who open a Romanian company involved in crypto trading, mining, custody or other activities, our team can offer assistance throughout all the company formation stages, including any applications for the provision of financial services that may be required according to the legal entity’s object of activity.

If you would like to know more about the conditions for authorisation for companies that need to hold a crypto license in Romania, please contact our local specialists.