How much is a crypto license in Poland? The real cost of a Polish VASP

Crypto entrepreneurs all pass by the stage of wondering about the best and cheapest crypto license for their activity. As they require trustworthiness to their community and the ability to open corporate accounts, the answer is often the crypto license in Poland. Therefore, the next important question is ‘How much does a VASP license cost in Poland?‘.

This article will not give you an exact, definitive price tag. It so happens that each project is unique and the final cost will then substantially vary, depending on factors such as:

• The project’s activities to be regulated;
• The amount of legal work to be provided;
• The necessary documents to be drafted for the VASP license in Poland;
• Other auxiliary services, related to the Poland cryptocurrency regulation.

We will assess each points individually to provide you with an educated guess of how much costs a crypto license in Poland. And tell you how to get an exact number for your specific project.

What is the cost of a crypto license in Poland? Let’s break it down

To assess precisely the potential cost of a crypto licensed company in Poland, we should first detail what it is made of. Under the hood of a Polish VASP company, we find a company (usually a limited liability company), a VASP authorization, all the necessary legal work to make it happen, all the necessary services to have the company running legally, and finally the banking services.

Though we can pinpoint a few standardized elements, such as the application fee to the Polish crypto regulation authority, not every aspect of the formation of a VASP in Poland has a ‘one-size-fits-all’ cost.

Company formation in Poland

The starting point for our journey in setting up a crypto company is company incorporation in Poland. The favorite legal entity form of crypto entrepreneurs settling in Poland is the ‘spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością‘ or sp. z o.o. This is the Polish equivalent of a limited liability company. A simple and effective company form with good flexibility and fast incorporation, at a reasonable price. It is worth adding that not only cryptocurrency project are choosing to incorporate in Poland for their operations, as this jurisdiction as proven to be one of the most business-friendly in Europe and the European Economic Area.

The process is undertaken at the very beginning of a VASP registration in Poland. The complete procedure to form and register the company takes a minimum of 20 days, which means that other critical processes to the crypto license obtainment are undertaken simultaneously, in order to streamline the process and make it one of the shortest available.

Legal preparation & corporate structure

In order to successfully register a project into the Poland VASP register, a crypto project must comply with the official requirements. Some may approach this obligation as a checklist where every item needs to be ticked. However, experience shows that the Polish regulators respond more favorably to project who take a proactive approach in enforcing good practices in their everyday operations and documenting them.

The bonding factor between the company operations and the regulator’s expectations is a set of documents, drafted by a specialized lawyer such as LegalBison’s. These documents are diverse by nature: internal guidelines on the application of AML-CFT rules, terms and conditions of use for the customers, a risk matrix to assess how to properly set the KYC software on your platform, whitepaper for a potential token issue, etc.

Depending on the project, on potentially existing documents, LegalBison’s legal preparatory services can start at a very low price (3-4 figures as an approximation).

Crypto license application

Now that a company has been registered and all the legal work is done, we are ready to register the project into the Poland VASP registry.

This process also has a few extra variables. LegalBison represents your interests and will do its best diligence to ensure the success of the VASP registration.

The fee for carrying out the licensing application to the Polish authorities with the assistance of LegalBison is a one-time expense.

Corporate services in Poland

Poland is not an offshore jurisdiction and the operation of a Polish VASP company requires a certain level of corporate structuring.

First, the company must have a legal address for its registration. This is an easily provided, streamlined service, for LegalBison’s Poland team. This line of expense only represents a mere yearly fee.

Next, Polish limited liability companies (sp. z o. o.) are liable to file accounts and financial reports on a scheduled basis. This is obviously better done by a local accountant and LegalBison can provide you with this service for a very competitive price.

Finally, the Poland crypto regulations require Virtual Asset Service Providers to appoint a MLRO-AML Officer (Money Laundering Reporting Officer). The project can look up applicants in Poland directly, or inquire LegalBison’s assistance in hiring a qualified individual.

Opening a corporate bank account for a Polish crypto company

Many crypto projects have chosen Poland for basing their crypto company, due to the relative simplicity of bank account opening for a Polish VASP. As one of our senior consultant likes to say: with crypto companies, this is the bank who choses the customer and not the other way around. Based on our experience and thanks to providing the proper documentation, clients are easily onboarded by banks and financial institutions, if they hold a VASP license in Poland

The price and fees of a high risk corporate bank account for a crypto company registered in Poland depend on the banking institution. LegalBison works with a trusted network of banking services providers who are familiar with the crypto industry and offer competitive rates to our clients registered in Poland.

Getting the exact cost of a Poland crypto license for your project

As per the elements listed in our article then, the price for a basic, cheap crypto license in Poland, would range from 4-figures to low 5-figures, in EUR. It is not possible to give a definitive price tag, given the customizable nature of the services required to form a Polish crypto company. However, it is certain that the Polish VASP license is the cheapest way to get banked, as a virtual asset service provider, especially in Europe.

A crypto project cannot really move forward without proper planning with exact numbers. This is why LegalBison decided to offer free consultations to all crypto entrepreneurs and firms, in order to provide preliminary guidance and an accurate estimate of the necessary corporate services to be provided. In order for you to receive an exact cost for your operations, we invite you to reach out to our team and to describe your activities in minute details.