VASP Licensing — Virtual Asset Service Provider Licences in 21 Jurisdictions

A VASP licence is a regulator's permission to exchange, transfer, custody or broker virtual assets for clients. The label changes by jurisdiction — CASP under EU MiCA, DCE in Australia, DASP in El Salvador — but the question underneath is the same: who will regulate you, and which clients does that let you serve?

The licence you need follows the clients, not the founders. Serving EU residents means MiCA authorisation in one member state, passported to the other 29 EEA countries. Serving the Middle East, Africa or Asia from an offshore centre means a local regime — Mauritius, Labuan, Seychelles, BVI or Cayman — and usually banking and payment partners who will want to see it.

Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) is the FATF-standard term covering crypto exchanges, wallet providers, custodians, and transfer services. Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) is the EU MiCA equivalent. Digital Currency Exchange (DCE) is the Australian AUSTRAC term. Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) is used in El Salvador.

Regardless of the term used in your target jurisdiction, the regulatory substance is similar — entities facilitating virtual asset transactions for third parties require authorization. Zitadelle AG covers all major frameworks and advises on the most appropriate jurisdiction for your specific crypto business model.