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| Dimension |
Pinned 🇪🇸 Spain partly open Verified 2026-08-15
|
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Free in full
Verified 2026-08-15
|
|---|---|---|
| Licence type | MiCA CASP Authorisation granted by the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV); Banco de España separately supervises stablecoin (ART/EMT) issuance | Today: FCA registration under the Money Laundering Regs 2017 (AML/CTF only). Incoming: full FSMA authorisation for cryptoassets (SI 2026/102, made 4 Feb 2026, laid 5 Feb) - gateway opens 30 Sep 2026, mandatory regime commences 25 Oct 2027; no automatic conversion from MLR registration. |
| Regulator | Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) - lead CASP authority; Banco de España co-supervises stablecoin issuers | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); HM Treasury sets the legislative perimeter; Bank of England for systemic stablecoin issuers. |
| Capital requirement | Spain capital requirement is included in the £349 pass. | No minimum initial capital under the current MLR registration. The incoming FSMA regime's final prudential rules (PS26/12, 30 Jun 2026) set Permanent Minimum Requirements by activity: GBP 75,000 (arranging/dealing as agent), 150,000 (custody, trading platform, staking), 350,000 (stablecoin issuance), 750,000 (dealing as principal). |
| Timeline to authorisation | Spain timeline to authorisation is included in the £349 pass. | MLR registration: 3-month statutory clock from a COMPLETE application, but realistically ~9-12 months including pre-application; historically low approval rate. |
| Local substance | Spain local substance is included in the £349 pass. | Business must be carried on in the UK (UK entity in practice); an MLRO / nominated officer (Reg 21(3)) who is UK-based, genuinely competent, independent and closely involved. |
| Application cost | Spain application cost is included in the £349 pass. | FCA application fee GBP 11,260 (Category 6, fee-block G23, non-refundable) plus typically GBP 50k-150k in professional fees; ~GBP 90k all-in representative (~EUR 105k at 1.16). |
| Ongoing cost | Spain ongoing cost is included in the £349 pass. | Annual FCA periodic fee under fee-block G.30 for 2026/27: minimum GBP 2,251 plus GBP 6.01 per GBP 1,000 of cryptoasset income above GBP 100,000. Plus AML operations, annual audit and compliance headcount; costs rise materially under the incoming FSMA regime. |
| Passporting | Spain passporting is included in the £349 pass. | No - post-Brexit the UK regime is standalone; no EU/EEA passport and no MiCA equivalence in either direction. |
| MiCA CASPs approved | Spain mica casps approved is included in the £349 pass. | Not applicable: non-MiCA jurisdiction, no CASP regime. See this jurisdiction's own licence route. |
| Key restrictions | Spain key restrictions is included in the £349 pass. | Cryptoasset financial promotions regime (since 8 Oct 2023): mandatory risk warnings, 24-hour cooling-off for first-timers, ban on incentives; plus significant bank de-risking / de-banking of crypto firms. |
| Recent changes | The CNMV's own register shows a bank-led adoption pattern: home-authorised providers include BBVA, CaixaBank, Cecabank, Kutxabank, Open Bank and Renta 4 alongside fintechs such as Bit2Me, Criptan Trade and Crossmint Europe, 10 in total by late Jun 2026. CNMV published updated MiCA Q&A guidance in Dec 2025 ahead of full application from 1 Jul 2026. | SI 2026/102 made 4 Feb 2026 (laid 5 Feb); FCA final rules published 30 Jun 2026 (PS26/10 stablecoins, PS26/11 regulated activities, PS26/12 prudential); authorisation gateway 30 Sep 2026 to 28 Feb 2027; mandatory FSMA regime from 25 Oct 2027. The FCA published its 2026/27 fees policy statement PS26/14 on 2 Jul 2026; cryptoasset periodic fee-block detail is still expected in a September 2026 Handbook Notice, with nothing published early as of 15 Jul 2026. On 8 July 2026 the FCA published detailed information about the authorisation application form for cryptoasset firms, a full walkthrough of every question the online form will ask; the FCA notes the form's wording may still be refined but its structure is not expected to change, and the online system itself opens for firms to start applications on 30 September 2026 when the gateway opens. Firms have also been able to request a pre-application meeting with the FCA through its PASS service since 11 May 2026, with meetings running from July 2026. |
| Difficulty rating | Spain difficulty rating is included in the £349 pass. | 4 - rigorous AML bar, historically low approval rate and severe bank-access friction; the incoming FSMA prudential/conduct regime raises the bar further. |
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.
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