LITHUANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Tadas Kuzminskas, APB “Leagus”
such services without authorisation from the Bank of Lithuania, as non‑compliance can lead to refusal of authorisation and financial sanctions. 3. Licensing and Set-Up Requirements 3.1 Licensing Requirements MiCAR is directly applicable in Lithuania. Accord- ingly, an authorisation under the MiCAR framework is required whenever a firm provides regulated crypto‑asset services, irrespective of the underlying technology. The crypto‑asset services requiring an authorisation are listed in 2.2 Crypto-Asset Regula- tory Frameworks . Issuers of ARTs and EMTs are sub- ject to separate MiCAR issuer authorisation/registra- tion, capital and consumer‑protection requirements. An authorisation is required for firms “established in Lithuania” that perform licensable CASP activities. Establishment is typically shown by having a branch in Lithuania, or by having a legally constituted entity subject to Lithuanian law. Firms domiciled abroad can also fall within Lithuanian supervisory reach if they actively offer services to Lithuanian clients (marketing, soliciting, onboarding clients in Lithuania) – regulators look at the target market and commercial activity, not only corporate domicile. Transitional (grandfathering) provisions applied in Lithuania. Operators of virtual‑currency exchanges and custodial virtual‑currency wallet providers listed in the Register of Legal Entities that lawfully provided services before 30 December 2024 were permitted to continue operating until 1 January 2026. Those opera- tors lost the right to carry out the respective activities from 1 January 2026 if they had not obtained a licence CASP authorisation in Lithuania is granted in accord- ance with MiCAR and applicable national law. Firms intending to provide crypto-asset services must apply to the Bank of Lithuania. The application must include all information required by Article 62 (2) of MiCAR (for example: identity and address of the applicant; pro- gramme of operations; articles of association; iden- tity of shareholders/members with qualifying holdings; under MiCAR by that date. 3.2 Set-Up Requirements
description of internal control arrangements; a robust AML/KYC framework; ICT technical documentation and security measures; complaints-handling proce- dures; procedures for segregation of clients’ crypto- assets and funds). Applicants must be legal entities established in Lithu- ania. MiCAR sets minimum own-funds requirements for CASPs depending on activity: • Class 1 – EUR50,000 (execution of orders, transfer services, reception/transmission, advisory services, portfolio management, placing of crypto-assets); • Class 2 – EUR125,000 (custody/administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients, exchange between crypto and funds/other crypto-assets); and • Class 3 – EUR150,000 (operation of a trading venue for crypto-assets). These requirements ensure firms hold sufficient resources to cover operational risks. The Law on Crypto-Asset Markets of the Republic of Lithuania requires authorised entities to have at least the following corporate bodies: a general meeting of shareholders, a board of directors and a manager. MiCAR does not prescribe specific headcount require- ments, but a CASP must maintain an organisational structure and sufficient staff to ensure compliance with Title V of MiCAR, taking into account the scale, nature and complexity of the services (eg, compliance officer/money laundering reporting officer, risk officer, IT/security lead). Applicants should ensure that at least some of the CASP’s senior managers with authority to make deci- sions related to the supervised entity’s activities reside in Lithuania or otherwise provide for adequate gov- ernance, availability and conditions enabling Bank of Lithuania to effectively supervise the entity. The Bank of Lithuania shall, within 25 working days of receiving an application, assess its completeness and verify that all information required by Article 62 (2) of MiCAR has been provided. If incomplete, the Bank of Lithuania will set a deadline for submission of missing
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