Crypto Licences by Jurisdiction: A Map of Twelve Regimes
MiCA CASP, VARA, ADGM, DIFC, SFC VATP, MAS DTSP, US BitLicense, FCA 2027, FINMA, AIFC, Japan and Korea compared on capital, custody, retail and travel rule.
Asset custody
Client Asset Protection Map: Deposits, Safeguarding and Investor Compensation
Deposit guarantee schemes, EMI safeguarding and investor compensation compared: 28 schemes, limits, eligible depositors, payout periods and a US$2m allocation example.
Crypto Banks and Custodians: Where a Private Holder Keeps Coins and Receives Fiat
Eighteen crypto banks and qualified custodians compared on licence, bankruptcy treatment of client coins, entry thresholds, fiat rails and published fees.
Dominica Offshore Banks: Licences, Accounts and Services
EQIBank, The Kingdom Bank and Nodabank: one statute, the Offshore Banking Act 1996, a separate virtual asset regime, fees and no deposit insurance.
Wholesale DLT Settlement: Choosing the Settlement Asset
Fnality, Partior, deposit tokens and wholesale CBDCs compared on the one axis that matters: whose obligation the ledger entry is, and what that does to credit risk and supervision.
Licence Withdrawal and Wind-Down: What Happens to Client Money
Client money at an EMI, payment institution, MSB or crypto platform when the licence goes: withdrawal, wind-down and insolvency, the safeguarding pool and the 65% average shortfall on FCA data.
Japan and Korea: payment and crypto licences
Licensing in Japan and South Korea: funds transfer tiers, prepaid issuers, JPYC and JPYSC stablecoins, crypto moving into FIEA, Korea's VAUPA and EFTA, real-name accounts and 2024–2026 enforcement.
The MiCA CASP Licence: Procedure, Cost and Choosing a Jurisdiction
Annex IV capital of €50k–150k or 25% of overheads under Article 67, a 25+40 working-day clock that runs 9–18 months in practice, and 325 CASPs on the ESMA register.
Fintech: licences, banking infrastructure, payments and stablecoins
Fintech regulation and operating infrastructure: licence selection, banking and safeguarding, acquiring, sanctions controls, stablecoins, crypto custody and regional regulatory regimes.
NYDFS: BitLicense and the New York Trust Charter — Two Regimes for US Crypto
26 BitLicenses and 13 trust charters as of August 2026, an eight-coin Greenlist, 226.5m in penalties and the OCC charter migration reshaping New York after the GENIUS Act.
Singapore's DTSP Regime: Why a Singapore-Registered Crypto Company Must Licence or Leave
Since 30 June 2025 a Singapore entity serving only offshore crypto clients needs a DTSP licence MAS says it will generally not grant. Routes, costs, penalties.
Banking for a Licensed Operator: How MSBs, MSOs, EMIs and PSPs Open and Keep Accounts
The operator account stack, why banks refuse, the 2026 provider map, CASS 15 from 7 May 2026 and a 90-day notice right from 28 April 2026.
US Financial and Crypto Licenses: Three Axes of Choice
Three axes decide a US regime: federal or state, deposit status, and Fed settlement access. Charters, ILCs, SPDIs, MTLs and the GENIUS Act from 18 Jan 2027.
The Digital Dollar in Four Legal Forms: Deposit Tokens, Stablecoins, EMTs and Tokenised Funds
Deposit tokens, payment stablecoins, MiCA e-money tokens and tokenised money market funds: legal nature, holder protection and balance-sheet risks — in one table.
The UK in 2026–2028: EMI Safeguarding, the FCA Crypto Regime and the Payments Reform
CASS 15 safeguarding for UK EMIs, the FCA crypto regime from 25 October 2027, and proposed reforms for payments and sterling stablecoins.
Swiss fintech and crypto licences: Fintech licence, DLT trading facility and crypto institutions
Swiss financial and crypto licensing under the Banking Act and DLT Act: Fintech licence, bank and securities-firm status, DLT trading facilities, crypto custody, stablecoins, capital and substance.
The OCC National Trust Charter: a Bank Without Deposits for Crypto and Fintech
Fiduciary powers, preemption of some 50 state MTLs and life without FDIC: how Ripple, Circle and Morgan Stanley take a national trust charter — and what it buys.
Morgan Stanley Digital Trust: preliminary OCC approval for crypto custody
Morgan Stanley Digital Trust holds preliminary conditional OCC approval for a national trust bank for digital-asset custody. E*TRADE infrastructure, proposed functions, pricing and launch limits.
HashKey Group: licensed digital-asset infrastructure in Hong Kong
HashKey Group: SFC-licensed exchange, custody, OTC, asset management and tokenisation across Hong Kong, Singapore and beyond. IPO disclosures, fees, onboarding and entity-specific protections.
Zero Hash: embedded crypto, custody and settlement infrastructure
Zero Hash: embedded crypto trading, custody, stablecoin payments, settlement and tokenisation for brokers, banks and fintechs. Licences, end-client agreements, pricing and OCC application status.
Switzerland and Singapore for Private Banking: Comparison
Entry thresholds, onboarding times, bank secrecy, deposit insurance, transaction taxes, fees and retrocessions: two private banking centres compared.
Bank Account Closure: De-Risking, Notice Periods and Exit Process
Notice periods in the UK, EU, Switzerland and Singapore, ombudsman limits, in-specie transfers and abandoned balances. BGer 03.03.2026 and CJEU C-81/24.
External Asset Manager: Contracts, Custody and Fees
How the EAM model works: the three contracts and the LPOA, FinIA/FinSA licensing, retrocessions in Swiss case law, fee economics, and the limits of the model.
Booking Centre: Account Jurisdiction and Applicable Rules
A booking centre sets the governing law, regulator, insolvency ranking, transaction taxes and CRS reporting. Why the location is a separate decision from the bank.
Zand Bank: The UAE's First Fully Licensed Digital Bank for Corporate and Digital Assets
Zand Bank — the UAE's first fully licensed digital bank: corporate and VASP accounts, VARA-licensed custody, the Zand AED stablecoin and a BBB+ Fitch rating.
Securities Custody: Euroclear, Clearstream, Pershing
How securities custody works: the custody chain, CSD and ICSD depositories (Euroclear, Clearstream), global custodians and Pershing, asset segregation and sanctions risk.
Puerto Rico Banks: How the IFE Jurisdiction Works
Puerto Rico as a banking jurisdiction: IFE licenses under Act 273, 4% tax, Fedwire without FDIC, Act 44-2024 reform and sector cleanup. Profiles of Zenus, FV Bank, Arival.
BCB Group: Payment Infrastructure for the Crypto Industry
BCB Group: FCA authorised payment institution, French EMI, BLINC 24/7 settlement network, fiat on/off-ramp, FX and custody for exchanges and funds.
Sygnum: Swiss Crypto Bank with a FINMA Banking Licence
Sygnum Bank: FINMA and MAS licences, segregated custody, trading, staking and Lombard loans against crypto. Who the bank suits, thresholds, onboarding.
Private Investor Infrastructure: A Map of Platforms for Family Offices
A map of private investor infrastructure: private equity (Moonfare, iCapital), pre-IPO secondaries (Hiive, Forge, NPM), SPV and cap table (Carta, AngelList, Sydecar) and crypto custody.