Crypto license in El Salvador

Licensing regimeLast reviewed 2026-08-24

Do you need a crypto license in El Salvador?

Yes. Providing digital asset services in El Salvador requires registration with CNAD as a digital asset service provider, and the fees are set as multiples of the national minimum wage rather than as fixed sums, so they move when the wage does.

Read this before you plan an application

A CNAD registration authorises activity in El Salvador only and does not passport anywhere else. Fee figures quoted in dollars go stale whenever the minimum wage changes, so check the multiple rather than the dollar amount.

El Salvador is the jurisdiction most often quoted with the wrong numbers, and the reason is structural rather than careless. The Digital Assets Issuance Law does not set the registration fee in dollars. It sets it as fifteen minimum monthly salaries for the commerce and services sector, with annual renewal at ten. When the minimum wage rose from USD 365 to USD 408.80 with effect from 1 June 2025, both fees rose with it, taking the initial fee from USD 5,475 to USD 6,132 and the renewal from USD 3,650 to USD 4,088. The older dollar figures still circulate widely. Beyond the fees, the attraction is real: zero tax on qualifying digital asset activity, and a register that already carries Binance, Tether and Freedx.

Regime: Licensing regime
Regulator: Comision Nacional de Activos Digitales (CNAD)
Framework: Ley de Emision de Activos Digitales (2023)
Application fee: Fifteen minimum monthly salaries for the commerce and services sector, payable once. At the USD 408.80 minimum wage in force since 1 June 2025 that is USD 6,132
Annual fee: Ten minimum monthly salaries, payable in the first quarter of each year. At the current minimum wage that is USD 4,088
Foreign owners: A foreign business must operate through a Salvadoran legal person: either a locally incorporated company or a branch registered with the commercial registry. Registered providers are typically in S.A. de C.V. form.

The framework

The Ley de Emision de Activos Digitales created CNAD, the National Digital Assets Commission, and the digital asset service provider registration. CNAD maintains a public registry of registered providers, each with a PSAD number and a registration date.

The fees, and why the dollar figures move

The law expresses both fees in minimum monthly salaries for the commerce and services sector:

Initial registration: fifteen minimum salaries, payable once.
Annual renewal: ten minimum salaries, payable in the first quarter of each year.

The applicable minimum wage rose to USD 408.80 with effect from 1 June 2025, which puts the initial fee at USD 6,132 and the renewal at USD 4,088 at the current wage. Quoting USD 5,475 and USD 3,650 without saying they are the pre-June 2025 figures is the most common error made about this jurisdiction.

Who is registered

The public registry names Binance Services El Salvador, Tether NA El Salvador, FREEDX and B2BINPAY El Salvador among others. Note that registrations are held by corporate entities, usually in S.A. de C.V. form: the operator behind the Finprime brand, for instance, is registered as Digital Trading Group of Central America. If you are checking a counterparty, search the corporate name rather than the brand.

Territorial scope, stated accurately

A CNAD registration authorises activity in El Salvador. It confers no authorisation anywhere else, because the law applies to public offerings of digital assets in Salvadoran territory and to the providers serving them. That is a limit by operation of law rather than a prohibition CNAD has issued, and the distinction matters: CNAD has in fact signed cooperation memoranda with foreign regulators. What does not exist is a passporting regime, so a registration here does not travel.

Tax

Qualifying digital asset activity is exempt, which is the substantive draw alongside the country's bitcoin policy.

License classes in El Salvador

License classes, the activities each covers, and their fees and capital requirements where published.
Class	Covers	Fee	Capital
Digital asset service provider (PSAD)	Providing digital asset services in or from El Salvador, registered with CNAD	Fifteen minimum salaries initially, ten annually	Not published

What the application requires

Salvadoran legal person, or a branch registered locally
Registration with CNAD as a digital asset service provider
Anti-money-laundering compliance programme
Fit and proper assessment of owners and officers
Annual renewal filed in the first quarter of each year

The application process

Incorporate locally
A Salvadoran company or a registered branch; a foreign entity cannot hold the registration directly
Prepare the application
Corporate, compliance and fit and proper documentation for CNAD
Pay the initial fee
Fifteen minimum monthly salaries for the commerce and services sector
CNAD assessment
Registration is granted with a PSAD number and published in the registry
Renew annually
Ten minimum salaries, in the first quarter of each year

Costs and taxation

Both fees are set in minimum salaries rather than dollars, so they rise whenever the commerce and services minimum wage rises. The widely quoted USD 5,475 and USD 3,650 are the figures at the pre-June 2025 wage and are no longer current.

Qualifying digital asset activity is exempt from tax under the Digital Assets Issuance Law, which together with the country's bitcoin policy is the main reason firms look at El Salvador rather than a larger market.

Who is licensed today

CNAD publishes a public registry of digital asset service providers, each with a PSAD registration number and date. Registration numbers are issued sequentially and are not withdrawn when a registration lapses, so the highest number is an upper bound rather than a count of active providers.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does an El Salvador digital asset licence cost?

Fifteen minimum monthly salaries to register and ten to renew each year. At the minimum wage in force since June 2025 that is about USD 6,132 and USD 4,088.

Why do quoted El Salvador fees differ?

The law sets the fees in minimum salaries, not dollars. The commonly quoted USD 5,475 and USD 3,650 reflect the wage before it rose in June 2025.

Does an El Salvador licence work in other countries?

No. It authorises activity in El Salvador only. There is no passporting regime, so the registration does not travel.

Who holds a CNAD digital asset registration?

Registrants include Binance Services El Salvador, Tether NA El Salvador, FREEDX and B2BINPAY El Salvador, among others on the public registry.

Is digital asset activity taxed in El Salvador?

Qualifying digital asset activity is exempt under the Digital Assets Issuance Law.

Sources

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