Crypto company formation: where to set up, and when you need a licence
A company that holds, trades or gets paid in its own crypto generally needs no licence in the places in this guide. A company that handles other people's crypto does: custody, exchange, transfers or selling a token to the public.
Form the company first. The licence question only starts when clients' money does.
Most crypto company pages are written to sell you a licence you may not need. This one draws the line between your own crypto and other people's, in nine places, with the rules as they stand in November 2026.
Key takeaways
- Holding, trading and getting paid in your own crypto needs no licence in the BVI, Cayman, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Estonia, Wyoming or Delaware. In the UAE, holding and payments don't either.
- Custody, exchange, transfers and token sales for other people need a licence or registration everywhere.
- The EU's MiCA transition ended on 1 July 2026. Old Estonian crypto licences no longer work.
- Company tax on crypto gains runs from 0% in the BVI and Cayman to about 11.7% in Zug.
- A RAK ICC company can't provide financial services, so it suits holding, not client business.
Do you need a crypto licence (VASP licence) for your company?
- Hold cryptoas company assets
- Trade itfor the company's own account
- Get paid in itfor what you sell
- Build softwarewallets, apps, protocols
- Hold it for clientscustody
- Exchange it for clientsor run a platform
- Send it for clientstransfers
- Sell a token to the publicor issue a stablecoin
Regulators everywhere use the same test: whose crypto is it? If it's the company's own, you're a user. If it belongs to clients, you're a virtual asset service provider, a VASP, and you need permission first.
The licence check
Tick what the company will do, pick a place, and see which activities need a licence there.
A guide to the rules, not legal advice. Where clients live can add their own country's rules.
Whose crypto is it? Your own needs no licence. Clients' crypto needs one first.
How to start a crypto company, step by step
The order matters more than the place. Get the first step right and the rest follows.
- Decide whose crypto the company will touch
Only its own, or clients' too. The licence check above answers this in a minute.
Day one - Pick the place that fits the next two years
0% for a treasury, a clear licence route if clients are coming. The comparison below lines them up.
Day one - Form the company
From a few days to a few weeks, depending on the place, with no visit needed.
Week one - Open the bank and exchange accounts
Corporate accounts, in the company's name, with its documents and your passport.
Next - Set up company wallets and records
Separate from your own, with a trail of where every coin came from.
Before the first trade - Apply for a licence, only if you serve clients
The route depends on the place; the costs are in chapter 10.
When clients arrive
Decide whose crypto the company touches before you pick a place. Everything else follows.
Best jurisdictions for a crypto company, compared
Nine places, one question each: what does your own crypto cost you, and what would client business take?
| Place | Own crypto | Client services need | Company tax on gains | Company, year one |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BVI | No licence | FSC registrationVASP Act 2022, from US$5,000 to apply | 0% | US$1,444 |
| Cayman Islands | No licence | CIMA registrationFull licence for custody and platforms since April 2025 | 0% | US$1,929 |
| UAE free zone | No licence to hold or get paidActive trading: confirm with VARA | VARA licence in DubaiFrom AED 40,000 to apply; ADGM and SCA elsewhere | 0% to AED 375,000, then 9% | From AED 6,069 |
| RAK ICC | No licence | Not allowedRAK ICC companies can't provide financial services | 0% to AED 375,000, then 9% | AED 7,709 |
| Hong Kong | No licence | SFC licence for platformsHK$5 million paid-up capital; HKMA for stablecoins | 8.25% then 16.5% on trading; long-term holdings untaxed | US$329 + HK$3,895 |
| Switzerland | No licence | SRO membershipFINMA licence to take deposits | About 11.7% in Zug | CHF 6,299 |
| Estonia (EU) | No licence | MiCA authorisationCapital EUR 50,000 to 150,000 | 0% kept, 22% paid out | €444 |
| Wyoming | No licence | FinCEN registrationNo Wyoming licence for virtual currency, except kiosks | No state tax; LLC looked through | $181.40 |
| Delaware | No licence | State licence and FinCENNew virtual currency rules from SB 18 (2026) | None for LLCs on income outside Delaware | $269 |
Rules as of 4 November 2026. Company prices are Heirson's, with every government fee included. Licence fees are the regulators' own published figures.
Which one fits your crypto business
- Holding a treasury or long-term coins: the BVI or Cayman, 0% tax and owners off public lists.
- Trading your own book: the BVI, Cayman or a UAE free zone. Hong Kong taxes trading profit.
- A Web3 studio or software company: Wyoming for US clients, Estonia for EU clients.
- A token or a DAO: a Cayman company or foundation company, or a Wyoming DAO LLC.
- Client services from day one: Dubai under VARA, or an EU country under MiCA, and budget for the licence.
For a treasury, the BVI or Cayman. For client services from day one, a place with a clear licence route.
Zero tax crypto countries: what a company pays on crypto gains
For the company, the answer is in the table: 0% in the BVI and Cayman, low or territorial elsewhere. Two details matter:
- Hong Kong taxes trading profit but not long-term investment gains, so how often you trade changes the answer.
- Estonia charges nothing while profit stays in the company, and 22% when it's paid out.
For you personally, nothing changes by itself. Your own country taxes what you take out, and may tax what the company keeps. Our three-click home-tax check shows how closely to look, and the tax haven table covers personal tax in 41 places.
Company tax on crypto gains runs from 0% to about 11.7% in this guide. Your own tax is a separate question.
Crypto company rules: what changed in 2025 and 2026
If a page still offers you an Estonian or Lithuanian crypto licence, it's out of date. In the EU, client services now go through MiCA.
If a page still sells an Estonian or Lithuanian crypto licence, it's out of date.
Wyoming LLC for crypto, and the DAO LLC
Wyoming is the US state that wrote crypto into its laws. For a founder abroad holding their own crypto, a plain Wyoming LLC is usually enough: no state income tax, no state licence for holding or trading, and $181.40 in year one.
What a DAO LLC adds
A DAO LLC is a Wyoming LLC whose rules can be run by its members through a smart contract, under its own chapter of Wyoming law. It costs US$100 to file and the same $60 minimum yearly tax as any Wyoming LLC.
- It suits a protocol or community that already governs itself on chain.
- It doesn't suit a founder who simply wants to hold crypto in a company. A standard LLC is simpler.
For holding your own crypto, a plain Wyoming LLC usually beats a DAO LLC: simpler, same yearly tax.
For a token project: company, foundation company or DAO LLC?
A token project needs a legal home that can sign contracts, hold the treasury and pay the team. Three structures come up most:
| Structure | Owned by | Can run with no shareholders? | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cayman exempted company | Shareholders | No | A team raising from investors who expect equity |
| Cayman foundation company | Nobody, with a supervisor | Yes | Protocols, token treasuries and DAOs with a foundation |
| Wyoming DAO LLC | Members, run by smart contract | Members instead | A community already governing itself on chain |
| BVI business company | Shareholders | No | A simple holding company for the treasury |
Selling the token to the public is the step that needs a licence, in Cayman as elsewhere. Building the protocol and holding the treasury don't. The Cayman foundation company is quoted on request.
Building the protocol and holding the treasury need no licence. Selling the token to the public does.
Bank and exchange accounts for a crypto company
This is the step most guides skip, and the one that decides how fast you can trade. Banks and exchanges ask the same three questions for a company account:
Usually every owner of 25% or more, with passport and proof of address.
"Holds and trades its own crypto" reads very differently from "serves clients".
Wallet history and a short note on how the coins were earned or bought.
We set up the company's bank account with you. Paying us in crypto is the norm, not the exception: it's the only way we take payment, and nothing is charged until you sign.
Separate company wallets and a clean history of where the coins came from open bank and exchange accounts.
Six mistakes crypto founders make when forming a company
Holding and trading your own crypto don't need one. A licence you don't need costs thousands a year to keep.
EU client services go through MiCA since 1 July 2026. Earlier national licences no longer carry you.
If you'll serve clients within a year, form where the licence route is clear, such as Dubai or an EU country.
RAK ICC companies can't provide financial services. They're for holding.
Banks and exchanges want to see where the company's coins came from. Separate wallets from day one.
A 0% company doesn't make you 0%. Check how your country treats a company you control abroad.
The costliest mistake is buying a licence for work that doesn't need one.
VASP licence cost: what client business would take
Most founders start with their own crypto and decide later. If you grow into client services, these are the regulators' own published figures to plan around:
| Place | Licence | Published cost or capital |
|---|---|---|
| BVI | VASP registration, FSC | US$5,000 to apply (US$10,000 for custody or exchange), then US$7,500 to US$25,000 a year |
| Dubai | VARA licence | AED 40,000 or 100,000 to apply, AED 80,000 or 200,000 a year; capital AED 100,000 to 1.5 million |
| Hong Kong | SFC trading platform licence | HK$5 million paid-up capital and HK$3 million liquid capital |
| EU | MiCA authorisation | Minimum capital EUR 50,000, 125,000 or 150,000, by service |
| US | FinCEN money services registration | Registration within 180 days, renewed every two years, plus state licences |
We form the company. We don't sell licences, so we'll never push you towards one you don't need.
Year one, three routes, worked through
Own crypto only: BVI company
Client services: BVI VASP
Client services: Dubai VARA
The difference
Client business costs tens of thousands a year in licence fees and capital. Plan for it before you promise it.
Crypto company questions, answered
Do I need a licence to hold crypto in a company?
What is a VASP licence?
What is the best country to start a crypto company?
Can I open a crypto company in Dubai?
Is a Wyoming LLC good for crypto?
What is a DAO LLC?
Can I still get a crypto licence in Estonia?
Which countries have zero tax on crypto for companies?
Can a crypto company open a bank account?
Can I pay for my company in crypto?
Changelog
- 4 November 2026: first published, covering nine places and rule changes up to October 2026.
A BVI company for your own crypto: no licence, 0% tax.
US$1,444 in year one with every government fee in the price, formed without a visit, paid in crypto only after you sign.