Crypto License in Cape Verde (2026)

What the application requires

• Prior registration with the Banco de Cabo Verde before starting, even where the applicant already holds another authorisation (Lei 30/X/2023 Article 3; Aviso 2/2024 Article 3(1))
• Fitness and repute of shareholders, beneficial owners, board and supervisory members and senior managers, assessed under Lei 62/VIII/2014 and BCV Aviso 1/2024 as a condition of granting and keeping the registration
• Draft articles of association naming the virtual-asset activities, and the address of the seat and central administration
• A programme of activities and business plan: geographic footprint, organisation and human, technical and IT resources with a detailed description of the IT architecture, projected volumes for the first three years, and the planned start date
• A description of internal controls for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, with a risk assessment of the projected client base, products, channels and geographies and the mitigating measures
• Proof that the share capital is held and of the origin of the funds used to subscribe it
• Application on the Banco de Cabo Verde's Annex I form with the Annex II declaration from each director and senior manager, in Portuguese, with foreign documents apostilled or legalised and translated
• Notification of the actual start of activity within 30 days, and of any change to registered elements within 30 days; registration lapses if activity does not start within six months
• Ongoing anti-money-laundering duties under Lei 38/VII/2009 as amended and BCV Aviso 5/2017, including identification of originator and beneficiary on virtual-asset transfers

The application process

1. 1

   Determine which virtual-asset activities you will register for

   The five activities in Aviso 2/2024 Article 2(b); widening the list later, or serving a higher-risk jurisdiction, means repeating the initial registration procedure (Article 5(3))

2. 2

   Incorporate the Cape Verdean company

   The file opens with draft articles of association that name the virtual-asset activities, and the registration covers the firm's seat and central administration (Article 3(4) and (5))

3. 3

   Build the application file

   Business plan with IT architecture and three-year volumes, anti-money-laundering controls and risk assessment, identity and fitness evidence for owners and managers under Aviso 1/2024, and proof of share capital and origin of funds

4. 4

   File with the Banco de Cabo Verde

   The Annex I form and Annex II declarations, completed in Portuguese, sent on a durable digital medium to the Departamento de Supervisao Microprudencial (Article 7); a file that ignores the formalities is treated as not sent (Article 10)

5. 5

   Assessment and decision

   The central bank may request further information and make enquiries; it decides within 90 days of the complete file and never later than six months from filing, refusing where the file is incomplete, inaccurate, fails an access requirement or shows a serious risk of anti-money-laundering non-compliance (Articles 3(9) and 8)

6. 6

   Register entry and start of activity

   The firm notifies its actual start date within 30 days; the registration lapses if it has not started within six months and can be cancelled for false statements, loss of requirements or six months of negligible activity (Articles 5(5) and 8)

Costs and taxation

Neither Lei 30/X/2023 nor Aviso 2/2024 states an application fee, an annual fee or a minimum capital. The file has to prove the share capital is held and where the funds came from (Article 3(5)(g)), and every document not issued by a Cape Verdean authority must be apostilled or legalised and, if not in Portuguese, accompanied by a certified and apostilled translation (Article 9), so translation and legalisation are the costs a founder can predict.

The general corporate income tax (IRPC) rate is 20 percent from 1 January 2026, reduced from 21 percent by the 2026 State Budget law, Lei n.o 69/X/2025 of 31 December, as summarised by PwC Portugal.

Who is licensed today

Registration is the Banco de Cabo Verde's own register under Lei 30/X/2023 Article 3, holding the firm's name, seat, activities, jurisdictions served, shareholders, beneficial owners and managers (Aviso 2/2024 Article 3(4)). No public list of registered virtual-asset entities was found on bcv.cv or in the Boletim Oficial for this draft, and the Banco de Cabo Verde's warning of 8 October 2025 about the unauthorised firm Optcoin states that it holds no registration of any kind with the central bank.

Buying bitcoin as an individual is a different question entirely: how to buy bitcoin in Cape Verde covers exchanges, payment methods and legality for residents, and the crypto license hub compares every jurisdiction we track.