Crypto License in Spain (2026)

What the application requires

• A legal person with registered office in a member state where it provides at least part of its services, effective management in the EU and at least one EU-resident director (MiCA Article 59(2)); ESMA expects at least one executive board member resident in Spain
• The CNMV's standard application for authorisation of a crypto-asset service provider, prepared with its application manual (marked under review on 6 September 2026)
• For a credit institution, investment firm, UCITS manager, AIF manager, e-money institution, CSD or market operator: the CNMV's notification model under MiCA Article 60 instead of an application, filed at least 40 working days before the service starts
• Minimum capital of EUR 50,000, EUR 125,000 or EUR 150,000 by class of service (MiCA Annex IV)
• The common obligations of MiCA Title V Chapter 2 for every provider, and the service-specific rules of Articles 75 to 82 for the services applied for, as the CNMV's MiCA page sets out
• Anti-money-laundering obligations under Ley 10/2010, the law the Banco de Espana's former virtual-currency register was kept under
• Reporting to the CNMV in the reserved statements amended by CNMV Circular 2/2025 of 26 March, which added crypto-asset service lines for investment firms and fund managers

The application process

1. 1

   Determine whether you apply or notify

   A new entrant applies for an Article 63 authorisation; a credit institution, investment firm, fund manager, e-money institution, CSD or market operator notifies the CNMV under Article 60 for equivalent services

2. 2

   Build the application file

   The CNMV's standard application and its manual set the contents; the CNMV's MiCA page says it holds preliminary meetings with applicants and points them to ESMA's supervisory briefing on CASP authorisation

3. 3

   File with the CNMV

   Submission on the CNMV's standard forms; receipt is acknowledged within 5 working days under MiCA Article 63(1)

4. 4

   Completeness check and assessment

   The CNMV checks completeness within 25 working days and then has 40 working days from the complete file to decide, with the assessment suspended while it waits for requested information (MiCA Article 63)

5. 5

   Authorisation and register entry

   The decision is notified within 5 working days; the provider appears on the CNMV's list and ESMA's register with the services granted and the date from which it may provide them, and can passport across the EU

Costs and taxation

The CNMV publishes no application fee for a CASP authorisation: Ley 16/2014, which sets every CNMV fee, has no line for crypto-asset service providers in the consolidated text read for this draft. The published cost is therefore the MiCA Annex IV capital floor for the class of services, EUR 50,000, EUR 125,000 or EUR 150,000, plus the professional cost of a file the CNMV's own application manual describes; that manual was marked 'under review' on the CNMV's forms page on 6 September 2026.

Corporate income tax is 25 percent at the general rate for tax periods beginning in 2026, per the Tax Agency's rate table; the same table gives lower rates for micro-companies, small companies and start-ups (19 to 23 percent, and 15 percent for new companies and emerging companies).

Who is licensed today

The CNMV publishes the register of crypto-asset service providers as a web list and a PDF with entity type, MiCA services and the date from which each may provide them, and points to ESMA's EU-wide register for the official version. Most rows are providers passported from other member states. Rows typed as Spanish authorisations or notifications read on 6 September 2026 include Bitcoinforme, S.L. (Bit2Me) from 31 October 2025, Iqana Technologies, S.L. from 22 January 2026, Criptan Trade, S.L. and Crossmint Europe, S.L. from 26 June 2026, Minos Global, S.L. from 30 June 2026, Basque Pay, S.L. and Fintech Payments PSC, S.L. from 31 July 2026, and credit institutions BBVA (5 March 2025), Open Bank (24 July 2025), Renta 4 Banco (21 November 2025) and CaixaBank (27 March 2026). See the official register.

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