Lithuania has announced that crypto platforms and firms must obtain a license to operate by December 31. According to the warning from the country’s central bank, any firm that fails to follow the rules will attract sanctions.
With the Baltic state serious about enforcing European rules, all crypto-related entities in Lithuania are obliged to have a license, with the monetary authority in Vilnius urging them not to wait until the very last moment to apply for one. A transitional period, allowing businesses active in the space, such as cryptocurrency exchange and wallet operators, to secure the necessary authorization, is set to expire at the end of 2025.
Lithuania orders crypto firms to comply with MiCA
The Central Bank of Lithuania (CBL) recently reminded participants in the market that this is not merely a recommendation, but a mandatory requirement, as noted by regional media this week. The licensing regime was introduced through legislation transposing the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation into national law.
After the December 31 deadline, measures will be taken against those who continue to work unlicensed, including fines, blocking of websites, and even criminal prosecution, the leading Russian crypto news outlet Bits.media detailed in a report on Wednesday. In a notice, Lietuvos Bankas called on platforms that do not intend to file license applications to take steps to ensure they terminate their activities smoothly.
Dalia Juškevičienė, head of the CBL’s Investment Services and Undertakings Supervision Division said, “Participants of the crypto-asset services market that do not plan to continue their operations should not delay and launch active communication campaigns to ensure that all of their clients are properly and timely informed of the winding down.”
Mandatory licensing deadline draws closer
Juškevičienė insisted users should be well-informed on the timeframe of the process and receive detailed instructions on how to transfer their fiat funds and cryptocurrency holdings elsewhere. She added that customers must also be offered an option to exchange their digital coins and have the money transferred to a custodian of their choice or self-hosted wallets.
“Operators should take all possible steps to ensure that assets belonging to their clients are returned before they are no longer authorized to provide crypto-asset-related services,” the press release added. Onboarding new users and accepting crypto assets, as well as the continued provision of related services without a MiCA license, will be deemed to constitute illegal financial activities from January 1, according to the Central Bank of Lithuania.
The regulator also warned that under the country’s criminal code, these are punishable by way of fines and even imprisonment for up to four years. Furthermore, Lietuvos Bankas remarked it’s empowered to restrict access to the websites of companies suspected of providing financial services outside the law. The monetary authority maintains a database of such entities and notifies relevant law enforcement agencies about any potentially criminal activities in the industry.
