19 April 2024

Licence procedure is now available for crypto service providers (CASP’s) that do business in Europe

Category: Crypto licence, Vergunningen

Crypto service providers (CASP’s) need to apply for a licence or a notification in Europe because of the MICA Regulation. The Netherlands is the first country to open the licence procedure. A CASP need one licence is a European country to be able to stay in business. The CASP licence can obtained with the Dutch authority AFM from April 22, 2024. Check out our guide to the licence here. In this blog we focus on the costs of the CASP application in the Netherlands.

Charges for crypto services (CASP) permit or notification

The application procedure for the CASP licence is open as from April 22, 2024. The obligatort registraion is n longer enough. Crypto service providers need to get the licence.
To apply for a CASP license or a CASP notification, the Dutch AFM and DNB charge fees for one-time transactions. In addition, the crypto service provider must take into account costs of a lawyer or consultant.

CASP license application with AFM

The fees below are still in draft form.  The AFM has advised the Ministry of Finance to set the fees at this level. However, they are not fixed until the Minister of Finance makes a decision on the level of the fees and publishes them in the Regulation on the Financing of Financial Supervision Single Operations. The draft rates below therefore serve only as an indication.

The target cost for processing a CASP permit application is 200 euros per hour with a maximum of  EUR 100,000 euro.

Suitability and reliability test of directors of CASP

When processing the application, the AFM also tests the persons involved in the management of a provider of CASPs for suitability and reliability. The draft fees for this are 700 euros per person for the reliability test. For the suitability test, the standard fee is EUR 2,900 per person. If a person has previously been tested by DNB in the context of an AMLD5 registration, a lower fee of 1,500 euros or 500 euros will be applied, depending on the difference in scope between the previously conducted DNB test and the new AFM test.

Finally, shareholders with qualifying holdings in the CASP are reviewed by DNB. DNB looks at direct and indirect shareholders for this purpose and charges fees.

Costs of applying for a CASP notification from the Dutch AFM

If a notification is sufficient, no CASP permit needs to be applied for. The fees below are still in draft form.

The AFM has advised the Ministry of Finance to set the fees at this level. However, they are not fixed until the Minister of Finance decides on the level of the fees and publishes them in the Regulation on Financing Financial Supervision Single Operations. The draft rates below therefore serve only as an indication. No rights can be derived from them.

The target cost for handling a CASP notification is 200 euros per hour with a maximum of 50,000 euro

The application process for the CASP licence

It is our experience, amongst others from the remote gambling licence, that it is helpful ta have a lawyer of consultant to coach you through the process.  If you have been through complex licence procedures before then this experience may benefit you. Blenheim has a team of experienced lawyers to assist you with the procedure. Feel free to contact us.
You can also listen to our podcast on the CASP licence.