CASP License in Slovakia: Requirements, Process and Costs Under MiCA

The VASP registration that previously governed crypto businesses in Slovakia was a national AML-based registration under the Slovak Anti-Money Laundering Act. It conferred no passporting rights, required no minimum capital, and involved no detailed assessment of the business model or internal governance by a financial regulator. It was, in regulatory terms, a compliance notification rather than a financial service authorisation.

The CASP authorisation under MiCA is a full prudential and conduct-of-business authorisation. It requires minimum own funds, fit-and-proper assessments for directors and senior managers, detailed business plans, AML/CFT frameworks, DORA-compliant ICT risk management, and ongoing supervisory reporting. The contrast is not incremental; it is a categorical shift from a notification regime to a licensed financial services framework.

The key differences in summary:

• VASP: national registration, no minimum capital, no passporting, AML focus only;
• CASP: EU authorisation, tiered minimum capital from EUR 50,000, EU-wide passport, full prudential oversight;
• VASP to CASP transition deadline in Slovakia: December 30, 2025;
• Post-deadline operation without CASP authorisation is not permitted.

For an introduction to MiCA’s broader structure and timeline, see LegalBison’s MiCA regulation overview.

Any entity providing one or more of the following crypto-asset services in or from Slovakia requires CASP authorisation from the NBS:

• Custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;
• Operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;
• Exchange of crypto-assets for fiat currency;
• Exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;
• Execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;
• Transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;
• Placing of crypto-assets;
• Reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;
• Providing advice on crypto-assets;
• Providing portfolio management of crypto-assets.

The geographic trigger matters for international founders. Businesses incorporated outside the EU that actively market or provide these services to EU clients are in scope. Passive provision (where the client initiates the relationship without active solicitation by the provider) falls into a different analysis, but reliance on this distinction requires careful legal structuring. LegalBison advises clients on how to map their user acquisition and service delivery models against the activity-specific licensing triggers that MiCA establishes.

Slovakia implements MiCA’s tiered CASP authorisation framework through three license classes. The class determines both permitted activities and minimum capital requirements. A company must apply for the class that covers every service it intends to offer. Class 3 is cumulative: it covers all Class 1 and Class 2 activities in addition to its own designated services.

Most centralised exchange operators will require Class 3 authorisation, as fiat-to-crypto exchange and operation of a trading platform fall within Class 3. Custody-focused providers and non-custodial advisory services may qualify for Class 1 or Class 2. The correct classification depends on a detailed analysis of the business model’s activity map against MiCA’s service definitions. LegalBison conducts this analysis as the first step in every Slovak CASP licensing engagement.

The NBS applies MiCA’s authorisation requirements with Slovakia-specific procedural expectations. The requirements below address the areas where applicants most commonly encounter delays or rejections.

Minimum Capital Requirements

Two separate capital layers apply to a Slovak CASP company. Applicants frequently conflate them, which creates problems at the documentation stage.

• Layer 1: s.r.o. Registration Capital. A Slovak s.r.o. (the standard private limited company used for CASP applications) requires a minimum share capital of EUR 5,000. This is the statutory incorporation requirement and does not satisfy the MiCA own funds obligation;
• Layer 2: MiCA Permanent Own Funds. This is the regulatory capital required under MiCA and is specific to the CASP license class: EUR 50,000 for Class 1, EUR 125,000 for Class 2, and EUR 150,000 for Class 3. Own funds must be maintained on an ongoing basis, not just at the point of application. The NBS requires proof that the own funds requirement is met as part of the application and imposes ongoing monitoring obligations post-authorisation.

The own funds cannot be used for operational costs. They are prudential capital held to protect clients and absorb losses. Applicants must demonstrate both adequate registered capital and sufficient own funds from their financial projections and capital adequacy documentation.

Corporate Substance and Director Requirements

• Registered physical or legal address in Slovakia (mandatory; a registered address service is not sufficient for Class 2 and Class 3);
• At least one director with Slovak or EU citizenship who satisfies the NBS fit-and-proper criteria (professional experience, clean criminal record, absence of regulatory sanctions);
• Designated AML/Compliance Officer: for Class 1, this role can be held by the same person as the director if that person is qualified; for Class 2 and Class 3, the role should be a separate appointment with demonstrable AML expertise;
• Senior management must have relevant professional experience in financial services, crypto-asset markets, or a related regulated sector and must hold a clean criminal record;
• Non-EU founders can hold shares in a Slovak CASP company; they cannot solely fulfil the director role, as the NBS requires at least one director with EU residency or citizenship for substance purposes.

AML/KYC, Travel Rule and DORA Compliance

Three compliance pillars must be addressed in the CASP application documentation:

• AML/CFT Framework. A comprehensive AML/KYC policy manual meeting the requirements of both the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives and Slovak national AML legislation. This includes customer risk categorisation, transaction monitoring procedures, politically exposed person (PEP) screening, and suspicious activity reporting protocols;
• FATF Travel Rule. Compliance with the FATF Travel Rule, which requires CASPs to collect, verify, and transmit originator and beneficiary information for crypto-asset transfers above EUR 1,000. The NBS expects applicants to demonstrate technical and procedural readiness for Travel Rule compliance at the application stage;
• DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act). The Digital Operational Resilience Act requires CASPs to maintain ICT risk management frameworks, incident classification and reporting procedures, digital operational resilience testing, and oversight of third-party ICT service providers. DORA compliance documentation must be included in the CASP application and maintained on an ongoing basis post-authorisation.

Required Documentation Checklist

A complete CASP application to the NBS requires the following documentation:

• Articles of association and corporate ownership structure, including UBO (ultimate beneficial owner) declaration;
• Comprehensive business plan with three-year financial projections, demonstrating regulatory capital adequacy and operational sustainability;
• AML/KYC policy manual compliant with EU and Slovak AML requirements;
• DORA-compliant ICT risk management framework;
• Description of all planned crypto-asset services with activity-by-activity mapping to MiCA service definitions;
• CVs and fit-and-proper declarations for all directors and senior managers;
• Proof of own funds and capital adequacy documentation;
• Internal governance and control framework;
• Conflicts of interest policy;
• Safeguarding policy for client assets (required for Class 2 and Class 3).

Applications for companies intending to provide services in other EU member states through passporting must include additional notification documentation per the MiCA cross-border framework. Individual service categories under the full CASP scope (particularly custody and trading platform operation) require supplementary service-specific documentation as specified in the NBS application guidelines.