# Luxembourg: crypto and CASP under MiCA > Crypto and CASP under MiCA in Luxembourg: CSSF as regulator, the CASP licence, EMT stablecoins, the link with необанк and a banking licence. Coinbase, Banking Circle and Zodia. Author: Алёна Дунаева — юрист, Family Office (https://wiki.private.law/authors/dunaeva) Last modified: 2026-06-14T10:40:00.000Z Canonical: https://wiki.private.law/en/casp-license-luxembourg Topics: banking Jurisdictions: luxembourg, eu Functional tags: license-vasp-mica, stablecoin, crypto-friendly, license, custody Semantic tags: license-vasp-mica, stablecoin, crypto-friendly, license, custody --- MiCA made the EU crypto licence uniform: instead of a patchwork of national VASP registrations, a single CASP authorisation passported across the whole Union. Luxembourg became one of the main places where that licence is taken — for the same reason as the payment one: the CSSF, reputation, and the ability to assemble a crypto, payment and banking perimeter in one jurisdiction. ## What a CASP is and who grants it A CASP (Crypto-Asset Service Provider) is a licence under the MiCA regulation (2023/1114) for crypto-asset services: exchange, conversion, order execution, custody and transfer. In Luxembourg it is granted and supervised by the CSSF — the same regulator responsible for funds, payment and banking licences. The CASP rules have applied since 30 December 2024; the transitional period for legacy VASPs ends on 1 July 2026, after which operating without a CASP in the EU is illegal (fines up to €5 million or 5% of turnover). ## The link with payment and banking licences The main reason to come to Luxembourg for a CASP is the ability to hold adjacent licences alongside it. A stablecoin under MiCA is an e-money token (EMT), and only a bank or an neobank may issue it; the custody and transfer of an EMT may, from March 2026, also require a payment licence under PSD2. Luxembourg lets you assemble the whole stack under one regulator. A telling case is Banking Circle: on 15 April 2026 it obtained a CASP from the CSSF and became the first institution in Luxembourg to hold a banking licence, an EMT and a CASP simultaneously. And Zodia Custody (backed by Standard Chartered) added a CSSF payment licence to its CASP — to legally hold and transfer stablecoins. ## Who obtained the licence Over 2026 a notable cohort took shape in Luxembourg: Coinbase Luxembourg S.A. (a CASP from the CSSF in early 2026 plus an neobank in March), Banking Circle (bank + EMT + CASP) and Zodia Custody (CASP + payment licence). These are not random names but infrastructure players for whom institutional acceptance matters more than speed. > 🍓 In Luxembourg a CASP is taken not as a box-tick but to place a crypto perimeter next to an neobank or banking licence under one regulator. Hence Coinbase, Banking Circle and Zodia. ## Stablecoins (EMTs) are a story of their own Under MiCA a 1:1 fiat stablecoin is an e-money token. Its issuer must be a bank or an neobank, and the services around it (custody, transfer) increasingly require a second, payment licence. So the stablecoin business concentrates where neobank and banking licences are already granted — and Luxembourg is in the front row alongside France and Ireland. > 🔗 **Related** > [neobank Luxembourg](https://wiki.private.law/en/neobank-luxembourg) · [White-label CASP](https://wiki.private.law/en/white-label-casp) > 🍓 A CASP in Luxembourg = a single EU-passported crypto licence plus the ability to bolt on an neobank and a banking licence under the CSSF. Legacy VASP registrations expire on 1 July 2026 — without a CASP, crypto business in the EU is no longer legal. > 🔗 **Related** > [Luxembourg](https://wiki.private.law/en/luxembourg) · [neobank Luxembourg](https://wiki.private.law/en/neobank-luxembourg) · [White-label CASP](https://wiki.private.law/en/white-label-casp) --- ## Factual claims - A CASP (Crypto-Asset Service Provider) is a licence under the MiCA regulation (2023/1114) for crypto-asset services: exchange, conversion, order execution, custody and transfer. - A telling case is Banking Circle: on 15 April 2026 it obtained a CASP from the CSSF and became the first institution in Luxembourg to hold a banking licence, an EMT and a CASP simultaneously. - Over 2026 a notable cohort took shape in Luxembourg: Coinbase Luxembourg S.A. - Under MiCA a 1:1 fiat stablecoin is an e-money token.