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 🇱🇹 Lithuania partly open Verified 2026-07-01
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🇲🇹 Malta
partly open
Verified 2026-07-03
|
|---|---|---|
| Licence type | 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. | MiCA CASP authorisation under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Act (Cap. 647); replaces the legacy VFA licence (VFA Act 2018) via a fast-track conversion. Malta granted one of the EU's first full CASP licences (Jan 2025). |
| Regulator | Bank of Lithuania (Lietuvos bankas) - single competent authority. Publicly selective stance: wants few, solid firms rather than the ~370-strong legacy VASP pool. | Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) - single competent authority; a long-standing crypto supervisor since the 2018 VFA regime. |
| Capital requirement | Lithuania capital requirement is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Malta capital requirement is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Timeline to authorisation | Lithuania timeline to authorisation is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Malta timeline to authorisation is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Local substance | Lithuania local substance is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Malta local substance is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Application cost | Lithuania application cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Malta application cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Ongoing cost | Lithuania ongoing cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Malta ongoing cost is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Passporting | Lithuania passporting is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Malta passporting is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| MiCA CASPs approved | Lithuania mica casps approved is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Malta mica casps approved is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Key restrictions | Lithuania key restrictions is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Malta key restrictions is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. |
| Recent changes | 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. | First-mover: Crypto.com licensed 27 Jan 2025; ~13 CASPs now authorised (OKX, Gemini, Gate, Blockchain.com). ESMA's 10 Jul 2025 peer review criticised the MFSA's authorisation of one CASP, tightening scrutiny. Transition ends 1 Jul 2026. |
| Difficulty rating | Lithuania difficulty rating is locked. Unlock with the £349 pass. | Malta 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.