Bermuda
Belize
Dominican Republic
Jamaica
Saint Kitts & NevisNikolai Timofejev
15 years in FinTech and payments. Maps your business model to the right scope - the CBCS registration now, the licence when the law starts - and leads the file to a compliant launch, including banking and payment rails.
Get a crypto license in Curaçao.
A crypto license in Curaçao today is a registration with the CBCS, the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten: since 16 May 2024 virtual asset service providers working in or from Curaçao fall under the anti-money-laundering ordinances, the LID and the MOT, and must register with the bank. A dedicated licensing law reached the Staten plenary on 7 March 2025; the CBCS has yet to open applications under it. We build the registration and the AML file now, ready for the licence.
27 yrs
on the international marketon the market
60+
in-house specialistsspecialists
400+
Crypto licenses obtainedlicenses obtained
Updated · Reviewed by the Prifinance team
Curaçao in brief
Crypto license in Curaçao: a CBCS registration now, a licensing law on the way.
Curaçao has no crypto licence yet, but it has a rule that already bites. Since 16 May 2024 virtual asset service providers offering services in or from Curaçao are service providers under the National Ordinance on Identification when Rendering Services (LID) and the National Ordinance on Reporting Unusual Transactions (MOT). The amendment added them, with payment service providers and e-money institutions, to article 1 of both ordinances, and the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten - the CBCS - required all of them to register by 9 July 2024 through the form on its website. Registration brings CBCS supervision of anti-money-laundering compliance: client identification and verification, reports of unusual transactions to the FIU, records and a compliance function, with sanctions for breaches. It is a registration for AML/CFT supervision, not a licence.
The licence is the next step. The draft National Ordinance on the Supervision of Virtual Asset Service Providers (Landsverordening toezicht virtuele activa dienstverleners, Staten file 2024-2025-232) went through the central committee in November 2024, a CBCS technical briefing in February 2025 and the plenary on 7 March 2025; the CBCS has yet to open applications under it, and its 2026-2028 strategic plan adds blockchain-analytics tools for VASP oversight. Two things often get mixed into the Curaçao story. The B2C and B2B licences belong to the gaming ordinance of December 2024 and the Curaçao Gaming Authority, and no tax exemption is written for crypto: a VASP pays profit tax under the general regime like any local company. We build the registration file now - a local NV or BV with real management, AML/CFT policies to the LID and MOT, a compliance officer and a business plan - and keep it ready for the licence.
Curaçao has no crypto licence yet: since 16 May 2024 VASPs register with the CBCS under the AML ordinances, the LID and the MOT.
The licensing law reached the Staten plenary on 7 March 2025. No crypto tax break - profit tax under the general regime.
The status
Registration today, full supervision next.
Two layers, one file. The CBCS registration is mandatory today; full supervision comes with the new ordinance. We build the first so it carries over to the second.
CBCS registration today; full supervision under the coming ordinance. One file for both.
01 - CBCS REGISTRATION · LID AND MOT
AML/CFT registration
Mandatory since 16 May 2024 for virtual asset service providers offering services in or from Curaçao: the registration form with the CBCS and full compliance with the two anti-money-laundering ordinances.
Mandatory since 16 May 2024 for virtual asset service providers offering services in or from Curaçao: the registration form with the CBCS and full compliance with the two anti-money-laundering ordinances.
- ✓Exchange, transfer, custody and other VASP services
- ✓Registration form filed with the CBCS
- ✓Client identification and verification (LID)
- ✓Unusual-transaction reports to the FIU (MOT)
- ✓AML/CFT policies, records and training
- ✓Sanctions for breaches of the LID and MOT
02 - THE NEW ORDINANCE · FULL SUPERVISION
Staten plenary, 7 March 2025Supervision under the coming law
The National Ordinance on the Supervision of Virtual Asset Service Providers puts VASPs under full CBCS supervision. Until applications open, the work is a file that is ready: company, people, policies and plan.
The National Ordinance on the Supervision of VASPs reached the Staten plenary in 2025; applications are not open yet.
- ✓Staten file 2024-2025-232
- ✓Central committee, November 2024
- ✓Plenary, 7 March 2025
- ✓The CBCS as supervisor
- ✓Applications not open yet
- ✓The registration file carried over
Costs and timelines are confirmed for your case before any work begins. When the new ordinance takes effect, we re-scope the file against its rules.
Why Curaçao
Registered, AML-supervised, well-connected.
The framework today is the AML registration with the CBCS under the LID and MOT, in force since 16 May 2024, with a licensing ordinance behind it - inside an autonomous country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
✓
A rule that already applies
Since 16 May 2024 a VASP working in or from Curaçao is a service provider under the two AML ordinances and registers with the CBCS. Operating without that is a breach, not a grey zone.Registration with the CBCS since 2024.
✓
The Central Bank in the picture
The CBCS, which supervises banks, insurers and trust companies, also oversees VASP compliance with the AML ordinances. Its 2026-2028 plan adds blockchain-analytics tools for that work.CBCS oversight of AML compliance.
✓
Kingdom-of-the-Netherlands base
Curaçao is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with Dutch civil-law heritage and established financial-services infrastructure. That lineage carries weight internationally.Dutch civil-law heritage, international weight.
✓
Caribbean and LatAm reach
Positioned for both Caribbean and Latin American markets, with Dutch, English, Spanish and Papiamentu in daily use. A natural bridge into the region for a crypto business.A natural bridge into the region.
✓
Established services infrastructure
A long financial-services and international-business history means the professional, banking and corporate infrastructure a VASP needs already exists on the island.The professional and banking layer already here.
✓
The sober positioning
No licence exists yet and no tax break is written for crypto. Curaçao suits a business that wants a registered Caribbean base now and the licence when the law starts; where a market needs a licence today, we pair it with one.No licence yet, no crypto tax break.
How it compares
How Curaçao differs from other routes.
Curaçao is a registration jurisdiction with a licensing law on the way - Central Bank oversight of AML today, Kingdom-of-the-Netherlands lineage, no sector tax break. The plain comparison is below.
Curaçao vs other jurisdictions
| Feature |  Curaçao | Other jurisdictions |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory regime | CBCS registration (LID/MOT, 2024) | Varies - licence or company route |
| VASP tax | General profit tax | Varies |
| Supervision | Central Bank, AML/CFT | Ranges widely |
| Licensing law | On the way | Often in force |
Regulatory regime
CuraçaoCBCS registration (LID/MOT, 2024)
Other jurisdictionsVaries - licence or company route
VASP tax
CuraçaoGeneral profit tax
Other jurisdictionsVaries
Supervision
CuraçaoCentral Bank, AML/CFT
Other jurisdictionsRanges widely
Licensing law
CuraçaoOn the way
Other jurisdictionsOften in force
Country by country
| Country | License type | Taxation | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curaçao | CBCS registration (LID/MOT) | General profit tax | AML registration; licence law pending |
 Antigua & Barbuda | DABA licence (FSRC) | 25% corporate | Dedicated law, supervised |
 Bahamas | DARE Act (SCB) | 0% corporate | Complete, supervised |
 BVI | VASP Act 2022 (FSC) | 0% corporate | Registration, AML-led |
CuraçaoLicense typeCBCS registration (LID/MOT)
TaxationGeneral profit tax
RequirementsAML registration; licence law pending
Antigua & BarbudaLicense typeDABA licence (FSRC)
Taxation25% corporate
RequirementsDedicated law, supervised
BahamasLicense typeDARE Act (SCB)
Taxation0% corporate
RequirementsComplete, supervised
BVILicense typeVASP Act 2022 (FSC)
Taxation0% corporate
RequirementsRegistration, AML-led
Caribbean & Atlantic · offshore
Crypto licences in neighbouring jurisdictions
Before you apply
Crypto license requirements in Curaçao: what the CBCS checks.Curaçao crypto license requirements.
The CBCS registers VASPs and supervises their compliance with the LID and MOT. The checklist below is what a serious file is built around - and what carries over when the licensing ordinance starts.
01
Curaçao entity - a local NV or BV with real management on the island, the base for services in or from Curaçao.
02
CBCS registration - the registration form filed with the Central Bank and kept current when the business changes.
03
Client identification - verification of clients and beneficial owners under the LID, with enhanced checks where the risk is higher.
04
Unusual-transaction reporting - indicators, monitoring and reports to the FIU under the MOT.
05
Compliance officer - a named person responsible for the AML/CFT framework and the contact with the CBCS.
06
Policies and records - AML/CFT policy, risk assessment, record-keeping and staff training.
07
Ownership disclosed - the structure up to UBOs, clean-record directors and officers.
08
Systems and security - wallet architecture, logs and records the CBCS can inspect.
09
Business plan - services, markets, volumes and financials, the core of the future licence file.
10
Readiness for the licence - capital, governance and safeguarding scoped against the new ordinance once its rules are in force.
01
Curaçao NV or BV with real management.
02
Registration form filed with the CBCS.
03
Client identification under the LID.
04
Unusual-transaction reports under the MOT.
05
Named compliance officer.
06
AML/CFT policy, records, training.
07
Ownership disclosed to UBOs.
08
Systems and records the CBCS can inspect.
09
Business plan for the licence file.
10
Licence readiness once the law starts.
Reflects the LID and MOT as amended from 16 May 2024, CBCS press release 2024-023 and the Staten file on the National Ordinance on the Supervision of Virtual Asset Service Providers (2024-2025-232), as of October 2026. Operating without registration breaches the AML ordinances.LID and MOT from 16 May 2024; CBCS press release 2024-023; Staten file 2024-2025-232. As of October 2026.
Verify it yourself
Official sources
Regulator pages, legal texts and public registers the figures on this page are based on.
- RegulatorCBCS press release 2024-023 - mandatory registration of virtual asset service providers under the LID and MOT (from 16 May 2024)centralbank.cw
- LawStaten van Curaçao - plenary of 7 March 2025: draft National Ordinance on the Supervision of Virtual Asset Service Providers (2024-2025-232)statenvancuracao.ibabs.org
- RegulatorCentral Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten - Supervisioncentralbank.cw
How it works
From first call to the CBCS registration.
01
Scope and strategy
Which services you offer in or from Curaçao, what the registration covers and where a licence elsewhere is needed today - fixed in writing.What the registration covers - in writing.
02
Curaçao company and substance
Local incorporation, registered office, directors and the governance layer - the presence behind the file.NV or BV, office, directors.
03
AML/CFT framework
Policy, risk assessment, client checks and FIU reporting under the LID and MOT, with a named compliance officer.LID and MOT, compliance officer.
04
CBCS registration
The registration form filed with the Central Bank and any follow-up questions answered.Form filed, questions answered.
05
Operations and the licence
The business live with ongoing AML duties we can keep running, and the licence file updated when the new ordinance takes effect.Ongoing duties; licence file kept ready.
Quick facts
RegulatorCBCS
FrameworkLID and MOT (AML/CFT)
In force16 May 2024
Registration deadline9 July 2024
Licensing lawOn the way
Profit taxGeneral regime
Legal systemDutch civil law
StatusKingdom of the Netherlands
The licensing ordinance reached the Staten plenary on 7 March 2025. Until the CBCS opens applications under it, the registration is the permission that applies - we keep the file ready for the switch.
On the ground in Curaçao
Run from our Dubai office, with Curaçao counsel.
Prifinance - Curaçao desk
Willemstad · Curaçao
Willemstad, Curaçao
01
Curaçao incorporation
Local company formation (NV or BV) and the corporate layer the CBCS expects behind a registration.NV or BV behind the registration.
02
The registration
The CBCS registration form, the AML/CFT framework under the LID and MOT and the compliance officer.CBCS form, AML framework, officer.
03
The licence file
Business plan, systems and governance prepared ahead, so the file moves when the new ordinance starts.Prepared ahead of the new law.
04
Banking and operations
Accounts arranged on full disclosure of the registration status - the business live on rails that hold.Accounts on full disclosure.
We also have offices in
Vilnius
Lithuania
Gedimino pr. 2
Prague
Czech Republic
Vlkova 532/8, Žižkov
London
United Kingdom
7 Bell Yard
Dubai
UAE
33 Level, Al Saqr Business Tower
Madeira
Portugal
Rua da Alegria 31, 1F
Istanbul
Turkey
Perpa Ticaret Merkezi, A Blok
Good to know
Taxation of crypto companies in Curaçao.
No tax exemption is written for crypto businesses in Curaçao. A VASP pays profit tax under the general regime like any local company - we model the rate, any incentive regime and the owners' home-country position before the structure is built.
General profit tax
A Curaçao VASP is taxed like any local company under the profit tax ordinance. There is no sector rate, so the model starts from the general regime.No crypto sector rate.
Registration is not a tax status
The CBCS registration is an AML/CFT obligation. It neither creates nor changes a tax position - that rests on the company and its facts.An AML/CFT matter only.
Substance underpins it
Real management and presence on the island are what make the tax position defensible with banks and with the owners' home countries.Real presence makes it defensible.
Home-country analysis matters
Curaçao tax does not remove tax where owners reside. We model the home-country and owner-level position honestly, so the structure is sound rather than optimistic.Does not remove tax where owners reside.
Indirect taxes to plan
Curaçao raises revenue through turnover and indirect taxes on domestic supplies. These are minor for an internationally-facing VASP but planned into the model so nothing surprises it.Minor for a VASP - planned in.
Records serve both
The AML records the registration requires also underpin the tax position - books kept for the CBCS serve the tax office too.AML-grade books serve tax too.
Tax summary
Profit taxGeneral regime
Crypto-specific exemptionNone
CBCS registrationAML/CFT, not tax
Indirect taxesOn domestic supplies
CurrencyXCG (Caribbean guilder, USD-pegged)
Home-country taxModelled separately
*As of 2026. No crypto-specific tax regime; profit tax under the general rules. The Caribbean guilder replaced the Antillean guilder as legal tender in 2025.
Turnkey professional support
Experienced lawyers and international consultants.
We provide end-to-end support, from company registration and the application file to regulatory interaction and compliance oversight - with an individualized approach to each client.
Oleksii Kindratenko
Builds the application itself: Curaçao company, AML/KYC policy pack, capital structure and tax registrations. His document sets are the reason reviews finish in months, not years.
Eugeniu Bevziuc
First point of contact for international founders. Runs the whole setup remotely, across time zones and languages - from the first call to a live, CBCS-registered business.
Follow Prifinance
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Curaçao · CBCS
Get your crypto license in Curaçao with expert support.
Full-service assistance - from company formation and the CBCS registration to the AML framework, with the licence file ready for the new ordinance.
Get a consultation →Free legal opinion
Is Curaçao the right fit for your project?
Our legal team will analyze your case at no cost and provide a written legal opinion: what the registration covers for your model, and whether a licence elsewhere is needed today.
Written assessment within 2-5 business days
Request a free conclusion →FAQ
The Curaçao crypto licence, answered.
Does Curaçao license crypto now?+
Not yet. Since 16 May 2024 virtual asset service providers offering services in or from Curaçao fall under the AML ordinances (LID and MOT) and must register with the CBCS. The licensing law, the National Ordinance on the Supervision of Virtual Asset Service Providers, reached the Staten plenary on 7 March 2025; the CBCS has yet to open applications under it.
What does the registration involve?+
The registration form with the CBCS and full compliance with the LID and MOT: client identification and verification, reports of unusual transactions to the FIU, records and a compliance function. It is supervision of AML/CFT compliance, not a licence.
Are VASPs tax-exempt in Curaçao?+
No crypto exemption is written into Curaçao tax law. A VASP pays profit tax under the general regime like any local company, and we model the rate and the owners' home-country position per case.
What are the B2C and B2B licences then?+
Gaming licences. The gaming ordinance of 20 December 2024 created a game licence and a supplier licence issued by the Curaçao Gaming Authority, often called B2C and B2B. They cover games of chance, not exchange or custody of virtual assets.
How much capital is required?+
The registration under the LID and MOT sets no capital figure. Capital and safeguarding come with the licensing ordinance; we scope them against its rules once they are in force.
What substance does the CBCS expect?+
A business offering services in or from Curaçao, usually through a local NV or BV with real management, clean-record directors, a named compliance officer and systems that keep the records the AML ordinances require.
Why Curaçao?+
Central Bank oversight already in place, a licensing law on the way, Kingdom-of-the-Netherlands lineage and reach into Caribbean and Latin American markets. A registered base that grows into a licence, rather than a nameplate.
When will the licence regime start?+
When the ordinance enters into force and the CBCS opens applications; no date has been announced. We track it and update your file as soon as the rules are published.
Does Curaçao license crypto?+
Not yet - VASPs register with the CBCS since 2024.
The registration?+
CBCS form plus LID and MOT compliance.
VASPs tax-exempt?+
No - profit tax under the general regime.
B2C and B2B licences?+
Gaming licences from the CGA, not crypto.
Capital?+
None under the registration; comes with the new law.
Substance?+
NV or BV, real management, compliance officer.
Why Curaçao?+
CBCS oversight now, a licence law on the way.
When does licensing start?+
No date yet - we track it for you.
Client notes
Google4.7★★★★★
Founders who wanted it done right.
Google4.7★★★★★
“As a software development crew at FewMoreTaps OÜ, we've had the pleasure of working with Prifinance on some key financial moves.First of all, navigating the world of corporate banking and finance can be a maze, but Prifinance made it feel like a walk in the park. They helped us set up a corporate bank account without the hassle of jumping on a plane or drowning in paperwork. Everything was done remotely, smoothly…”
Google
“I had their assistance in company registration and I would recommend them. They were answering all my clarification during the process and offering all their supportThank you Daniel and Irinia”
Google
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Google
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Google
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Google
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One message away from your Curaçao registration.
Get a free legal opinion on your project - our legal team will analyze your case at no cost and provide a written legal opinion: what the CBCS registration covers for your model and how to prepare for the licence.Free legal opinion: what the CBCS registration covers for your project and how to prepare for the licence.
✓Written legal opinion within 2-5 business days - free of charge✓A clear read on the registration and the licence ahead - not a sales pitch✓Transparent fixed fees, confirmed up front✓EN · RU · ES speaking team
Prifinance is an independent law and advisory firm. We are not a regulator and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the CBCS or any other public authority. Licences are granted by, and obtained directly from, the competent authorities.