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 🇨🇾 Cyprus partly open Verified 2026-07-03
|
🇱🇹 Lithuania
partly open
Verified 2026-07-01
|
|---|---|---|
| Licence type | MiCA CASP Authorisation granted by CySEC; existing Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs) can extend their licence to cover crypto-asset services under a simplified process | MiCA Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) authorisation under Title V of Reg (EU) 2023/1114; replaced the national VASP registration. Single passportable licence covering the services applied for. |
| Regulator | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) - sole National Competent Authority for MiCA in Cyprus | Bank of Lithuania (Lietuvos bankas) - single competent authority. Publicly selective stance: wants few, solid firms rather than the ~370-strong legacy VASP pool. |
| Capital requirement | Cyprus capital requirement is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Lithuania capital requirement is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Timeline to authorisation | Cyprus timeline to authorisation is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Lithuania timeline to authorisation is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Local substance | Cyprus local substance is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Lithuania local substance is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Application cost | Cyprus application cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Lithuania application cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Ongoing cost | Cyprus ongoing cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Lithuania ongoing cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Passporting | Cyprus passporting is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Lithuania passporting is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| MiCA CASPs approved | Cyprus mica casps approved is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Lithuania mica casps approved is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Key restrictions | Cyprus key restrictions is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Lithuania key restrictions is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Recent changes | CySEC set a hard 27 February 2026 deadline for existing national-regime CASPs to submit MiCA applications; preliminary assessment phase opened 13 Nov 2024, formal applications from 1 Jan 2025; national transitional regime and full MiCA regime now running in parallel toward the 1 July 2026 EU-wide cutover | Lithuania used a shortened 12-month grandfathering - legacy VASP cover ended 1 Jan 2026 (vs the EU 1 Jul 2026 backstop). First CASP: Robinhood Europe (29 May 2025); only ~4 CASPs authorised by Mar 2026. |
| Difficulty rating | Cyprus difficulty rating is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Lithuania 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.