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🇲🇹 Crypto license in Malta: who holds one

23 companies hold a MiCA crypto-asset service provider licence granted in Malta by MFSA, and a further 154 licensed elsewhere in the EEA may operate there through passporting. Everything below comes from the official ESMA register, refreshed daily.

23
Licensed in Malta
5th of 30 EEA countries
177
May operate here
including passported providers
0
Warnings
entities flagged by this regulator
2
Stablecoin issuers
EMT/ART issuers based here
169
White papers
notified via this regulator

Who grants the licence in Malta

Competent authority
Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) — official website
Designated under
Article 93 of MiCA, as notified to ESMA
Licences granted
23 active, the 5th largest of the 30 EEA countries (out of 365 in the EEA)
First licence
27 January 2025 · most recent 23 September 2026

What a crypto licence in Malta requires

MiCA is a single EU rulebook: the requirements are the same in Malta as anywhere else in the European Economic Area, and only the authority reviewing the file changes. An applicant files with MFSA under Article 62, describing the services it intends to offer, its governance, the fitness of its managers and shareholders, its ICT systems, how it segregates client assets and how it handles complaints.

The company itself must have substance in the Union: a registered office in a Member State where it actually carries out part of its services, its effective management in the EU, and at least one director resident in the EU (Article 59(2)). A bank, investment firm or e-money institution does not need a new licence — it notifies its regulator under Article 60 instead, which is why familiar banks appear in the register alongside crypto-native firms.

The timetable set by the regulation

Minimum capital, by what the provider is allowed to do

ClassMinimum capitalServices coveredProviders serving Malta
Class 1 EUR 50,000 Brokerage-style services: executing orders, placing crypto-assets, transfers, receiving and transmitting orders, advice and portfolio management. 7
Class 2 EUR 125,000 Everything in class 1 plus holding client assets or trading against them: custody and administration, exchange for funds, exchange for other crypto-assets. 140
Class 3 EUR 150,000 Everything in class 2 plus operating a trading platform for crypto-assets. 14

Annex IV to MiCA, applied through Article 67: a provider must hold the higher of the amount above and one quarter of its previous year's fixed overheads. The last column places each provider that may serve clients in Malta in the class of the heaviest service it is authorised for. Full text: Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 · plain-language version: our MiCA guide.

The 23 providers licensed in Malta

Authorised by MFSA and reported to ESMA. Open one to see the exact services and the countries it may serve.

Crypto services available in Malta

How many active providers — licensed here or passported in — may offer each of the ten MiCA services to clients in Malta.

126
a. Custody and administration
14
b. Operating a trading platform
111
c. Exchange for funds
93
d. Exchange for other crypto-assets
77
e. Execution of orders
17
f. Placing of crypto-assets
42
g. Reception and transmission of orders
15
h. Advice on crypto-assets
26
i. Portfolio management
121
j. Transfer services

Passported into Malta

154 providers licensed in another EEA state that notified Malta for at least one service.

Stablecoin issuers based in Malta

Questions about crypto licensing in Malta

Is crypto legal in Malta?

Yes. Buying, holding and trading crypto-assets is legal in Malta. Since 30 December 2024 the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) applies there, so any company offering crypto services as a business must be authorised — by Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) or by another EEA regulator that has notified Malta under the passporting rules.

Which crypto exchanges are licensed in Malta?

23 providers hold a licence granted in Malta, including Altarius Asset Management Limited, Bequant, Bitpanda, Blockchain.com, BVNK. A further 154 licensed elsewhere in the EEA may operate there through passporting, such as 21bitcoin, 360 Treasury Systems AG, Acheron, Alaric Securities, Altcoins.

Who issues the crypto licence in Malta?

Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) is the competent authority designated under Article 93 of MiCA. It receives applications, grants or refuses the authorisation, supervises the provider afterwards and reports it to ESMA for the EU-wide register.

How long does it take to get a MiCA licence?

The regulation sets the clock, not the regulator: the authority acknowledges the application within 5 working days, has 25 working days to check that it is complete, and then 40 working days from a complete file to grant or refuse, with a reasoned decision notified within 5 working days (Article 63 of MiCA). Time spent completing a file that was filed incomplete does not count.

How much capital does a crypto licence require?

Annex IV of MiCA sets a permanent minimum of EUR 50,000 for brokerage-type services, EUR 125,000 once the provider holds client assets or exchanges them, and EUR 150,000 for operating a trading platform. A provider must hold whichever is higher: that floor, or one quarter of the previous year's fixed overheads (Article 67).

Can I use a crypto exchange licensed in another EU country?

Yes, if it has notified Malta under MiCA's passporting rules. 177 providers may currently serve clients in Malta; each provider's page on this site lists the countries it notified, service by service.

Using a crypto provider in Malta

A resident of Malta can legally use any provider on this page: those licensed by the local authority and those that passported in. What matters is that the exact company and domain you deal with is the one in the register — a licensed brand can have unlicensed affiliates, and the licence covers only the services listed on the provider's page.

If a provider serving Malta is missing here, it may be a bank or investment firm acting under Article 60 (they appear in the register too, under their legal name), or it may be operating without authorisation. The check tool looks up both lists at once, by name or by website.

Source: the interim MiCA register published by ESMA, plus the list of competent authorities notified under Article 93. This page is an independent index, not a statement by MFSA, and it is not legal advice. How the data is processed.