Pin and benchmark
Pin the jurisdiction you are leaning towards, then line up to 5 rivals against it. Every unlocked figure shows where a peer beats it or loses to it on capital, timeline, cost and difficulty, so one screen tells you whether your first choice actually holds up.
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| Dimension |
Pinned 🇪🇪 Estonia partly open Verified 2026-07-02
|
🇩🇪 Germany
partly open
Verified 2026-07-03
|
|---|---|---|
| Licence type | MiCA CASP authorisation; implemented via the Crypto-Assets Market Act (Kruptovarade turu seadus, KrüTS), in force 1 July 2024. | MiCA CASP authorisation granted by BaFin under national law FinmadiG/KMAG; replaces the legacy KWG crypto-custody business licence, with a simplified transition for existing KWG-licensed firms. |
| Regulator | Finantsinspektsioon (Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority) | BaFin (Bundesanstalt fur Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) with Deutsche Bundesbank involvement; applications go to both. Widely regarded as the EU's most demanding CASP regulator. |
| Capital requirement | Estonia capital requirement is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Germany capital requirement is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Timeline to authorisation | Estonia timeline to authorisation is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Germany timeline to authorisation is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Local substance | Estonia local substance is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Germany local substance is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Application cost | Estonia application cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Germany application cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Ongoing cost | Estonia ongoing cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Germany ongoing cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Passporting | Estonia passporting is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Germany passporting is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| MiCA CASPs approved | Estonia mica casps approved is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Germany mica casps approved is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Key restrictions | Estonia key restrictions is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Germany key restrictions is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Recent changes | Estonia's VASP population collapsed from 641 valid licences (mid-2021 peak) to 36 remaining by early 2026; as of recent reporting only one entity (Lightspark Payments Europe AS) had received full MiCA CASP authorisation. From 18 March 2026, CASP applications must go through FI's new application portal. | FinmadiG + KMAG in force 27 Dec 2024; Germany used a 12-month grandfathering (apply before 8 Oct 2025; effective end-2025). By mid-2026 the EU's #1 hub - ~57 CASP authorisations (~23% of the EU's ~244), incl. Trade Republic, N26, Commerzbank, Bitpanda. |
| Difficulty rating | Estonia difficulty rating is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Germany difficulty rating is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
Informational only, not legal advice. A delta compares the sortable figure only (capital, timeline, cost, difficulty, passporting, approvals); it is not a judgement on overall suitability. Verify with qualified counsel before acting.