MiCA CASP Authorisation in Liechtenstein

VCS does not obtain it for you. The FMA is the competent authority and decides the authorisation. Advice on the application is reserved to licensed trustees (TrHG Art. 2(c)) and lawyers (RAG Art. 8). VCS collects your documents and coordinates the file; a licensed Liechtenstein trustee or lawyer, named in your engagement letter, advises and submits it.

This page does not compare jurisdictions or advise where to apply; that question belongs to your licensed adviser. Two facts apply: an authorisation obtained in Liechtenstein can be passported within the EEA once it is held, and the FMA questionnaire asks whether other EEA states have been or will be approached.

The FMA publishes no day count for its decision, and VCS quotes no processing time. Six months from receipt of a complete application is only the point at which an appeal opens, not a promised duration. The FMA calls complete, high-quality applications an essential prerequisite, so the file is built for completeness first.

Not for activities that need MiCAR authorisation. The transition period ended on 1 July 2026, and TVTG registrations for those activities expired on 2 July 2026. MiCAR and the TVTG are mutually exclusive in scope, so some services, NFTs for example, can still fall under the TVTG, and a provider may need authorisations under both.

Providing crypto-asset services without authorisation is a court offence under EWR-MiCA-DG Art. 26, with imprisonment of up to three years. Other breaches of MiCAR and the Act can draw an FMA fine of up to CHF 1,000,000 for legal persons, higher for serious, repeated or systematic breaches. An Art. 60 notifier may not start while its notification is incomplete.

A CASP licence is the Art. 63 authorisation as a MiCA institute. "MiCA licence" is the wider term: it also covers issuers of asset-referenced tokens authorised under Art. 21 MiCAR. An Art. 60 notifier is a CASP too but holds no Art. 63 licence. The sources we work from define no VASP licence; the TVTG speaks of VT service providers.

Under the 2026 text of the FMAG, the fee is CHF 30,000 for an authorisation with at least one service under Art. 3(1)(16)(a) to (d) MiCAR and CHF 10,000 for one limited to services under (e) to (j). The FMA can charge further costs, and an annual supervisory levy applies. VCS and partner fees are on request.

The FMA lists ten crypto-asset services: custody and administration, operating a trading platform, exchange for funds, exchange for other crypto-assets, executing orders, placing, receiving and transmitting orders, advice, portfolio management and transfer services. Which of them a model amounts to, and whether a token is a MiFID II financial instrument outside MiCAR, is settled first with the licensed adviser.

The sources name no separate exchange licence. A business that wants to run an exchange needs an Art. 63 authorisation or, if it is an Art. 59(1)(b) financial entity, an Art. 60 notification, for the services its model amounts to. The FMA lists operating a trading platform and the two kinds of exchange as separate services.

Bitcoin Suisse (Europe) AG has held an Art. 63 authorisation since 22 June 2026, covering custody, both exchange services, order execution, reception and transmission, and transfers. Sygnum Europe AG has held one since 26 June 2026. ZEUS Anstalt für Vermögensverwaltung was authorised on 1 December 2025 for portfolio management under Art. 60(3). The ESMA register gives the overview.

The FMA questionnaire covers planned substance and expected headcount; we found no CASP-specific staff minimum. Under PGR Art. 180a, at least one board member authorised to manage and represent must hold a Trustee Act licence or a licence treated as equal (paragraph 2); paragraph 3 exempts entities needing a managing director under the Trade Act or another special act.

Art. 60 is open only to financial entities the FMA already licenses: credit institutions, central securities depositories, investment firms, electronic money institutions, UCITS management companies, AIFMs and market operators. They notify the FMA and hold no Art. 63 licence. Every other undertaking that wants to offer crypto-asset services needs an Art. 63 authorisation.

Only once a CASP authorisation has been obtained. The sources we work from give no procedure, timeline or outcome in another state, so this page states none and promises none. Whether to passport the authorisation, and to which states, is a question for your licensed adviser, who can assess the plan for each market.

The FMA approves the audit firm in advance, and any later change. A change of seat or address and outsourcing of important tasks need prior notice. The annual report is due within four months of the year end, with a yearly audit. CASPs are obliged entities under the Due Diligence Act, with Travel Rule and self-hosted address checks.

Yes. An appeal to the FMA-Beschwerdekommission is open within 14 days of service of the decision, and also when a complete application is still undecided six months after receipt. The Commission's decision can then go to the Verwaltungsgerichtshof within 14 days. A licensed lawyer may represent you in the appeal; VCS keeps the file in order.