An SVG company may be incorporated and, if it conducts in-scope business, registered with the SVG Financial Services Authority (FSA) under the Virtual Asset Business Act. MiCA requires a separate CASP authorisation. A business that wants to serve or market regulated crypto-asset services to EEA clients normally needs an EU-established entity authorised under MiCA and the required cross-border notification. The narrow reverse-solicitation exception gives no licence and does not permit general marketing.
What is an SVG crypto licence?
The SVG FSA says the Virtual Asset Business Act, 2022 became effective on 31 May 2025. The Act requires a person carrying on virtual-asset business in or from SVG to register with the FSA. The covered activities follow the FATF VASP model. They include exchange, transfers, safekeeping or administration, and specified financial services connected with an issue or sale. FSA supervision includes AML/CFT compliance and powers to inspect, condition, suspend or revoke a registration.
The statute uses registrant and certificate of registration. The FSA website sometimes uses licence and registration together, while commercial pages often say "SVG crypto licence" or "CASP license in SVG." Verify the underlying document by checking the legal entity, certificate, statute, activities and current status. A valid VABA registration establishes SVG regulatory status but gives no EEA permission.
VASP is an international AML classification based on functions and does not confer a global licence. CASP is the MiCA legal category for a provider allowed to deliver one or more of ten specified crypto-asset services. Similar service labels do not make the two permissions equivalent.
SVG fees, timing and renewal
The FSA’s current Virtual Asset Businesses page lists the official fees and estimated timing below. The figures cover only SVG regulatory charges. Legal, audit, insurance, staffing and technology costs are separate.
| Step | Current FSA information |
|---|---|
| Application | Submit through an FSA-licensed registered agent with the required due diligence, business plan and financial information. The application fee is EC$4,000. |
| Registration | The registration fee is EC$12,000 after approval. |
| Typical processing time | The FSA estimates about 90 days when the documentation is complete and accurate. The estimate is not a guaranteed decision deadline. |
| Certificate and renewal | The certificate is valid until 31 December of its issue year. The FSA says it is renewable by 31 January of the following year. The annual renewal fee is EC$12,000. |
SVG registration compared with MiCA authorisation
| Question | SVG Virtual Asset Business registration | EU MiCA CASP authorisation |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, outside the EU and EEA | EU home member state. MiCA is also implemented across the wider EEA. |
| Permission | Certificate to conduct registered virtual-asset business in or from SVG | Article 63 authorisation for named services, or Article 60 notification for an eligible financial entity |
| Regulator | SVG Financial Services Authority | Home-state national competent authority. ESMA maintains the central register. |
| Service scope | Five FATF-style groups: exchange, transfer, custody/administration and issue-or-sale related services | Ten services, including custody, platform operation, exchange, orders, placing, advice, portfolio management and transfers |
| Prudential safeguards | Current FSA guidance states EC$50,000 paid-up capital, EC$300,000 authorised capital, plus a statutory deposit of at least EC$100,000 or 25% of client financial obligations, whichever is greater | An Article 63 CASP must hold the higher of its €50,000, €125,000 or €150,000 service-class floor and one quarter of fixed overheads. The CASP can use eligible own funds, insurance or both. Article 60 entities follow their existing sectoral prudential regime because Article 60(10) disapplies Article 67. |
| Governance and client protection | Domestic fit-and-proper, governance, AML/CFT, audit, disclosure, cyber, reporting and client-asset requirements under the SVG framework | MiCA-wide governance and conduct rules, complaints, conflicts, safeguarding and service-specific duties, alongside applicable DORA requirements |
| EEA marketing and passporting | SVG status alone gives no right to solicit or serve EEA clients | Article 65 cross-border notification enables the authorised services to be provided across the EEA |
| Verification | Match the certificate and legal entity against the SVG FSA register and current status | Match legal name, LEI, website, regulator and service codes in the ESMA and home-authority records |
Each framework sets independent requirements under its own law and currency, with different territorial permissions. For the EU application requirements and all ten service definitions, use the full CASP licence guide.
What an SVG business must do before serving the EEA
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a third country for MiCA. An SVG certificate may apply to the group’s SVG operations. EU authorisation remains a separate process, and one group company cannot use another company’s authorisation. An SVG business must complete these steps:
- List every product and customer process. Identify the MiCA services in spot trading, exchange, custody, transfers, orders and advice. Assess derivatives, tokenised securities, payments and lending separately because another EU rulebook may apply instead of, or alongside, MiCA.
- Choose an EU home state and authorisation route. An EU-established legal person normally applies under Articles 62 and 63. Article 60 applies only to specified entities that already hold qualifying financial permissions. SVG registration does not make a firm eligible. Compare regulators in the MiCA licence-by-country guide.
- Prepare the evidence for authorisation. The file must cover the programme of operations, owners and managers, EU substance, prudential safeguards, governance, AML, client assets, complaints, ICT resilience, outsourcing and wind-down. The evidence must describe the applicant that will contract with EEA clients. Evidence about an offshore affiliate does not meet this requirement.
- Control access and marketing before authorisation. Review websites, app stores, onboarding, country selectors, paid search, affiliates, influencers, sponsorships and direct messages. Geofence services where necessary and give existing clients an orderly migration or exit route. An application does not permit service before authorisation.
- After the home authority grants the relevant services, confirm the entity in the ESMA CASP register. Complete the Article 65 notification before relying on passporting. Continue to observe host-state consumer and marketing rules. The licensed exchange list shows which authorised entity serves each consumer brand.
Incorporation, registration, licence and reverse solicitation
- Incorporation creates a company in a corporate registry. The incorporation record proves that the legal person exists but gives no permission to provide virtual-asset services.
- SVG registration is the FSA status under the VABA for in-scope business. Registration has its own domestic conditions and supervision, separate from company incorporation.
- A licence or authorisation must identify the law, regulator, entity and service. Under MiCA, the relevant proof is an Article 63 authorisation or a valid Article 60 notification in the official records.
- Article 61 defines reverse solicitation as a narrow exception that applies when an EEA client requests the service entirely on their own exclusive initiative.
ESMA instructs authorities to interpret client initiative narrowly and look at the facts. Solicitation by the third-country firm, an affiliate, a paid referrer or another person acting on its behalf prevents reliance on the exception. A contractual sentence or "I approached first" checkbox cannot override prior targeting. Even a valid inbound request does not create a passport or a general right to market new service types later.
Consumer legal-entity checklist
- Find the contracting company. Record the full legal name in the terms, account-opening screen and custody disclosure. A brand or group name is not enough.
- Classify the document as a certificate of incorporation, an SVG VABA registration, an EU CASP authorisation, an application or a marketing claim.
- Search the CASP register for the exact legal entity. Check the website, LEI, granting authority, status and service letters. A similar company name is insufficient.
- Confirm that the permission covers your country and the product you plan to use. Verify spot exchange, custody and crypto derivatives separately.
- Review warnings from the relevant national authority and the MiCA warning list. A warning records an authority action and does not establish a conviction. Authorisation requires a positive register match even when no warning appears.
- Record who holds client assets, the complaint address, governing terms and regulator contact. Save the dated records you used because entities, permissions and country restrictions can change.
Bitunix: verify each regulatory fact
The Bitunix record shows why a country label cannot replace product-by-product verification. The current Bitunix user agreement names Bitunix Fintech LLC as the SVG-incorporated contracting entity. The agreement identifies incorporation only, so check the FSA register separately for VABA status. On 12 March 2025, France’s AMF published an entry for www.bitunix.com in its crypto-assets derivatives blacklist category. The AMF page states that the company was blacklisted because it offered financial services or products without authorisation.
Bitunix’s own restricted-regions notice, updated 5 August 2026, lists France among its prohibited jurisdictions. The notice says that Bitunix services are unavailable to anyone physically located there. The notice also prohibits attempts to bypass the restriction with tools such as a VPN or proxy.
The AMF entry records the French authority’s stated category and reason, and the Bitunix notice records the restriction stated by the platform. Other EEA countries and products require separate checks. The sources do not establish a MiCA authorisation or convert an SVG status into an EEA passport. Check the live registers and the exact product before drawing a broader conclusion.
Verify the entity and authorised services
Search for the contracting entity and its authorised services. A business preparing a MiCA application can also compare available home-state routes.
Frequently asked questions
Is an SVG CASP license valid in the EU or EEA?
An SVG registration is not valid as EU or EEA authorisation. A Saint Vincent and the Grenadines virtual-asset business registration gives domestic status under SVG law. EU Regulation 2023/1114 requires separate authorisation. An SVG registration grants no MiCA passport and does not place the firm in ESMA’s authorised CASP register.
Does Saint Vincent and the Grenadines issue crypto licenses?
SVG has a registration and supervision regime under the Virtual Asset Business Act, 2022, administered by the Financial Services Authority. The Act refers to registration and a certificate of registration. Providers may use other labels, so verify the exact entity, statute, certificate, scope and current status.
Can an SVG-registered exchange serve EEA clients?
An SVG registration alone gives no EEA permission. The standard route for active service or marketing of MiCA crypto-asset services requires an EU-established entity with MiCA authorisation and the required cross-border notification. A narrow exception applies when an EEA client acts entirely on their own exclusive initiative.
How do I verify an SVG registration versus a MiCA license?
Check an SVG registration with the SVG Financial Services Authority and a MiCA authorisation in ESMA’s CASP register and the home regulator’s record. Match the exact legal entity and check the services, status, website and relevant dates.
Does reverse solicitation allow an SVG firm to advertise in Europe?
Reverse solicitation does not allow an SVG firm to advertise in Europe. The exception applies only to a service initiated exclusively by the client. A checkbox, contract clause or disclaimer cannot convert EU-targeted advertising, paid referrals or other solicitation into client initiative.
The SVG sources are the FSA Virtual Asset Business Act, the FSA’s current VAB page and 2026 guidelines. The Bitunix sources are the Bitunix user agreement, the AMF Bitunix entry, and the Bitunix eligibility notice. The definition comes from the FATF glossary. The MiCA sources are MiCA on EUR-Lex, the ESMA MiCA hub and reverse-solicitation guidelines. The page was reviewed on 11 August 2026 and provides general information. Verify current records and obtain professional advice for the specific entity, service and target country.