Crypto license cost comparison by country

1. MiCA licence cost: which regulators publish a fee, and what it is
2. Crypto licence cost in the UK: the FCA fee, in pounds
3. What actually drives the cost of a crypto licence

• Malta: application fee of EUR 10,000 for class 1, EUR 20,000 for class 2 and EUR 25,000 for class 3, with only the highest applicable fee charged where services span classes; annual supervisory fee of EUR 10,000, EUR 25,000 or EUR 50,000 by class, plus EUR 2,000 for every service the licence covers (Markets in Crypto-Assets Act (Fees) Regulations, S.L. 647.01, regulation 6).
• Malta, two things this calculator leaves out: the third limb of the annual supervisory fee is 0.05% of transaction volume from the preceding year's annual return, capped at EUR 250,000, which is nil for a first-year applicant; and regulation 6(6) prorates the first supervisory payment across the period from authorisation to the following 30 July, so the cash timing differs from the full year shown here.
• France: a contribution of EUR 10,000 is due on authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider and EUR 10,000 annually thereafter, with an additional 0.0094 per thousand of assets under custody, minimum EUR 1,500, for providers authorised for custody (AMF, fees and contributions). Notifying a crypto-asset white paper carries a separate fixed fee of EUR 3,000.
• Netherlands: the AFM publishes no fixed licence fee. It charges EUR 200 per hour for processing a CASP licence application, capped at EUR 100,000, and EUR 200 per hour capped at EUR 50,000 for a notification, plus EUR 700 per person for a properness assessment and EUR 2,900 per person for a suitability assessment, reduced to EUR 1,500 or EUR 500 where DNB has already assessed the individual (AFM, cost of licensing or notification).
• Ireland: the Central Bank's MiCAR pages set out the authorisation process but publish no application fee, and its fees and levies pages describe an annual industry funding levy calculated by levy category rather than a fixed figure (Central Bank of Ireland, MiCAR FAQ). We publish no number for Ireland because none is published.
• Germany: BaFin states that MiCAR authorisation applications are subject to a fee, that the fee depends on the time spent, that the governing instrument is the Finanzdienstleistungsaufsichtsgebührenverordnung, and that the fee is charged even if the application is withdrawn or refused (BaFin, Kryptowerte-Dienstleistungen). No fixed amount is published.
• Capital is not a fee. The Annex IV figures of EUR 50,000, EUR 125,000 and EUR 150,000 are permanent minimum capital under Article 67 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. You hold them, you do not pay them to anyone, and Article 67 requires the higher of that and one quarter of the preceding year's fixed overheads.
• Professional costs are excluded entirely. Legal drafting, compliance consultancy, audit, ICT assurance and the salaries of the people the file commits you to hiring are real and usually larger than the fees, and no regulator publishes them. We do not publish a range we cannot source: see our cost drivers guide instead.
• All fee pages were read on 15 August 2026. Fee regulations change; check the linked source before you commit a budget.

Crypto Licence Costs is an independent information site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. We are not a law firm, we are not authorised or registered by any regulator, and we are not affiliated with or endorsed by the MFSA, the AMF, the AFM, BaFin, the Central Bank of Ireland, the FCA, ESMA or the European Commission. Nothing here is legal, regulatory or tax advice. Fees change and are set nationally: confirm the current figure with the authority you are applying to before you commit a budget.