How to Obtain a Crypto License in Estonia: Requirements, Application Procedure and How Enty Can Assist You With the Process

Estonia is quickly becoming one of the leading digital and IT jurisdictions in the world. The main reason for this is its attractive financial legislation that is quite simple and straightforward. Outside of providing great opportunities to open and manage your company, Estonia is also one of the countries in Europe that has a specific license for cryptocurrency services. Together with that in comparison to other similar licenses, such as Singapore or Switzerland, Estonian license can be obtained with fewer costs.

Enty provides a solution that allows obtaining a cryptocurrency license in full compliance with regulation, helping our clients to meet all requirements.

Cryptocurrency is called "Virtual Currency" in the Estonian regulation:

There are 2 types of virtual currency services that are subject to this license:

virtual currency wallet service:
Needed if your app or service generates or stores user keys (no matter if these keys are encrypted or not)

virtual currency exchange service:
Needed if your service or entity exchanges fiat-to-crypto or vice-versa and/or exchanges crypto-to-crypto.

Other activities (e.g. personal investments in crypto projects) don't require licensing.

After obtaining the license, entities are available to provide services that include the generation and storage of encrypted customer keys or cryptocurrency exchange services for fiat money or vice versa, or cryptocurrency for another cryptocurrency.

In order to apply for a license, a company must meet the following criteria:

• Must have paid share capital of €12,000;
• Must have a real physical office in Estonia;
• One of the board members must be an Estonian resident. Moreover, this board member must meet 2 additional criteria: good reputation and education level;
• Must have a bank account with a financial institution (IBAN) registered in European Economic Area;
• Must appoint a person responsible for KYC/AML activities (can also be a company executive, if this person is an Estonian resident and has the needed education level), International Financial Sanctions, and for communication with the state authorities. A key requirement for the person is employment relations with an entity applying for the license and continuous monitoring of clients' activities with an objective to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

If you don't have a company in Estonia yet, start the incorporation process now

As soon as a company is sure that it meets the requirements mentioned above, it can apply for the license. An application for the license must then be filed with the Financial Supervisory Authority through the Financial Intelligence Unit Estonia. The application can be sent online or you can provide us the power of attorney and we will do everything for you (we will tell you about our approach a bit later).

The document package needed for the application is quite huge and includes all key documentation of your company, KYC and risk assessment documentation, and information regarding board members and company owners, etc.

The state fee for review of an application for the license is €3,300. The applications are reviewed by the Financial Intelligence Unit which takes up to 3 months. After an application is reviewed, the FIU may initiate an additional step prior to issuing a license and interview a person responsible for KYC/AML activities.

Enty provides a solution to assist companies with obtaining a crypto license on all stages. First, we would like to tell you why Enty may be the best service to help you obtain the license.

We have already helped our clients and partners obtain several crypto licenses in Estonia in the last year. We know the whole process in detail and will be able to help you with ease. Together with that, the majority of our team has excessive experience in the crypto industry. For example, in our previous place of employment — Tokenomica, we have managed to be the first company in Malta to receive in-principle approval for a Class 4 VFA License. It's important to keep in mind that rules and requirements in Malta are far more stringent and complex than in Estonia.

Now let's go through the process. If you don't have a company yet, we will help you open one in Estonia with ease. Just contact us through the website, get on a call with our representatives, pay the incorporation fee (incorporation is billed separately from crypto services assistance but we also have a complete package that includes all needed services at a great price) and that's it :)

As there are specific requirements for companies that can apply for the license, our team can assist you in finding a part-time or a full-time Director and a Compliance Officer and help you select a physical office in Estonia. You won't need to travel to Estonia yourself, we will complete the whole process for you.

As soon as all requirements are met, we will help you find the best bank or fintech provider that is crypto-friendly and suitable for your board members. We have already launched a solution that helps to pick a fintech service for your company, it will take only 2 minutes to show the answer for you.

Next, we will form the documents package needed for the application. This list will include AML policy, policy on working with sanctions lists, CV of board members, a document describing the responsibility of board members.

After the documents package is completed, we will consult you on the configuration of Compliance processes. During this process, we can help you choose the best service provider for KYC/AML process, instruct you on how to work with your clients in the most convenient way for your business, and basically will tell you about complications that there may be.

And that's it. Most importantly, we will help you during the whole process of obtaining the license, will be by your side when needed. Book a call with our specialists today and start obtaining the license with us. Or contact us on our website.