A crypto license in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a registration with the Financial Services Authority under the Virtual Asset Business Act No. 9 of 2022, in force since 31 May 2025: a Business Company or LLC, a principal representative resident in SVG, paid-up capital of EC$50,000 on EC$300,000 authorised, a statutory deposit of EC$100,000 or 25% of client obligations and about 90 days on a complete file. Foreign-source income of the company is not taxed. We build the registration file end to end.
Updated · Reviewed by the Prifinance team
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines went from no regime to a live one on 31 May 2025. The Virtual Asset Business Act No. 9 of 2022 was passed three years earlier and waited for a start date, which the Virtual Asset Business (Amendment) Act 2025 finally set; the Financial Services Authority opened registration on 2 June 2025 by Circular No. 1 and gave companies already in the business until 31 July 2025 to file. The Act covers the five activities on the FATF list - exchange between virtual assets and fiat, exchange between virtual assets, transfers, custody or administration, and financial services for an issuer's offer or sale - and it reaches every Business Company or LLC incorporated here, wherever its clients sit. Operating without registration is an offence under section 19.
What the FSA issues is a Certificate of Registration, valid to 31 December of the year of issue and renewed by 31 January; its own pages call the result both a registration and a licence. The file goes in through a registered agent licensed by the FSA: application form and checklist, due diligence on directors, beneficial owners and the principal representative, a business plan with five-year projections (or three years of audited accounts for an existing company), AML/CFT, risk, IT and consumer-protection policies, and the EC$4,000 application fee. The FSA quotes about 90 days for a complete file. The money side is set in the Act and in the FSA Guidelines in force since 18 November 2025: authorised capital of EC$300,000 with at least EC$50,000 paid up, a statutory deposit of EC$100,000 or 25% of client obligations, whichever is greater, pledged to the FSA at a licensed bank, professional indemnity cover of EC$300,000, and registration and renewal fees of EC$12,000 a year.
Saint Vincent registers crypto businesses since 31 May 2025: the FSA, under the Virtual Asset Business Act 2022, five activities, one certificate renewed yearly.
BC or LLC, a resident principal representative, EC$50,000 paid-up capital and a deposit from EC$100,000. About 90 days on a complete file; foreign income untaxed.
The VABA does not split the business into classes. One registration covers whichever of the five activities you declare, and the file is sized to the risk of what you run. We fix the activity list first, then build once.
One registration with the FSA covers the five activities under the Act. We fix the list, then build the file once.
Registration with the Financial Services Authority for exchange, transfer, custody and issuance services, on a Saint Vincent BC or LLC. Filed through a registered agent, renewed every year by 31 January.
Registration with the Financial Services Authority for exchange, transfer, custody and issuance services, on a Saint Vincent BC or LLC. Filed through a registered agent, renewed every year by 31 January.
Only a Business Company or an LLC incorporated in Saint Vincent can register. A foreign-controlled applicant appoints a principal representative resident in SVG and keeps a local business address; a physical office is optional.
Only a Saint Vincent BC or LLC can register; a resident principal representative and a local address replace the office.
Costs and timelines are confirmed for your case before any work begins. Fees are set in Schedule 1 of the Act; the FSA may ask for more capital than the floor where the risk profile calls for it.
The framework is the Virtual Asset Business Act, run by the FSA since 31 May 2025 - one registration for the five activities, a resident representative instead of an office, and taxes that stop at the shoreline.
The Virtual Asset Business Act No. 9 of 2022 is in force since 31 May 2025 and the FSA registers under it. The old warning that nobody licensed crypto here is history.The VABA is in force since 31 May 2025.
The FSA quotes about 90 days for a complete application. Caribbean registered agents keep the mechanics moving; what usually slows a file is a thin business plan.The timeframe the FSA itself quotes.
No class ladder. Exchange, transfer, custody and issuance services sit under one certificate; you declare what you run and size the capital and deposit to it.No classes - declare what you run.
Foreign-source income of a Business Company is not taxed in Saint Vincent. A globally facing platform keeps its core activity outside the local net, by system rather than ruling.Foreign-source income untaxed.
A physical office is optional. What the Act wants is a principal representative resident in SVG, a local business address and a registered agent who files for you.Resident representative and a local address.
No EU passport and no US reach. Saint Vincent is a registered Caribbean base that pairs with onshore licences when a market calls for them. Forex is a different file: the FSA issues no forex licence, and a Saint Vincent company in forex needs one from the countries where its clients are.No EU passport; forex is a separate file.
Saint Vincent is now a registration jurisdiction - a statute, a regulator and a certificate - rather than the company-only play it was before mid-2025. The plain comparison is below.
| Feature |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Other jurisdictions |
|---|---|---|
| Permission | FSA registration under the VABA | Licensing regimes |
| Timeframe | About 90 days | Often several months |
| Tax on foreign income | None | Varies |
| Capital and deposit | EC$50,000 paid up + deposit from EC$100,000 | Varies |
| Country | License type | Taxation | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | VABA registration (FSA) | No tax on foreign income | BC/LLC, resident representative, deposit |
 Anguilla | Utility Token Act + company | 0% corporate | Token route or pairing |
 Saint Kitts and Nevis | Virtual Asset Act 2020 (FSRC) | 25% corporate (resident) | FSRC registration, AML-led |
 BVI | VASP Act 2022 (FSC) | 0% corporate | Registration, AML-led |
Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesAnguillaSaint Kitts and NevisBVIThe Act, the Circular and the Guidelines spell the file out. The checklist below is what we build.
Reflects the Virtual Asset Business Act No. 9 of 2022 as amended in 2025, FSA Circular No. 1 of 27 May 2025 and the FSA Guidelines for Virtual Asset Businesses in force since 18 November 2025. The FSA can set a higher capital floor for a riskier model.VABA 2022 as amended in 2025, FSA Circular No. 1 of 27 May 2025, FSA Guidelines from 18 November 2025.
Regulator pages, legal texts and public registers the figures on this page are based on.
Which of the five activities you run, what capital and deposit that implies, and what sits outside the Act - fixed in writing before the company is formed.Which of the five activities - in writing.
BC or LLC incorporated, principal representative and compliance officer appointed, fit-and-proper files collected for every director and owner.BC or LLC; representative and compliance officer.
Form, checklist, business plan, policies, financial statements and the EC$4,000 fee - filed through the registered agent. The FSA quotes about 90 days.Through the agent; about 90 days at the FSA.
Capital paid up, the statutory deposit pledged at a licensed bank and the EC$12,000 registration fee paid - the Certificate of Registration is issued, and the IT audit is done before operations start.Capital, deposit, fee; certificate issued.
Accounts and rails live; quarterly reports, audited accounts and the annual renewal by 31 January run on a calendar we keep.Accounts live; reports on a calendar.
The 90 days the FSA quotes assume a complete file. Companies already in the business had to apply by 31 July 2025; anyone still unregistered faces striking off and the offence in section 19.
BC or LLC incorporation and the registered agent who files the application with the FSA.BC or LLC and the agent who files with the FSA.
Form, checklist, business plan, policies and the fit-and-proper pack - built to the FSA Guidelines of 2025.Built to the FSA Guidelines of 2025.
A resident principal representative, a local business address and the compliance roles the Act asks for.Resident representative and compliance roles.
The statutory deposit at a licensed bank, operating accounts and payment rails matched to the flows.Deposit at a licensed bank; accounts.
Saint Vincent does not tax the foreign-source income of a Business Company, and the registration does not change that. What it adds is a cost line - fees, deposit, insurance and audits - that the plan has to carry.
The foreign-source income of a Business Company is not taxed in Saint Vincent. A globally facing platform keeps its core activity outside the local net, by system rather than special ruling.Core activity outside the local net.
EC$4,000 to apply, EC$12,000 to register and the same again every year, cover of EC$300,000 and a deposit from EC$100,000. We put the numbers in the plan before the FSA does.Fees, deposit, insurance - in the plan.
A resident principal representative, a local address and real compliance roles are what the Act asks for - and what makes the tax position defensible with banks and home-country authorities.Representative and real compliance roles.
No local tax does not remove tax where owners and operations sit. We model the home-country position before the structure is built, so it is sound rather than optimistic.Local 0% does not remove home tax.
Registered businesses file audited financial statements under international standards; an exchange files within three months of year-end. Clean books are a condition, not an option.A condition of registration, not an option.
Source, substance and reporting mapped across the company, the deposit bank and the owners' home jurisdictions. We build that file first, because the FSA reads it too.Built first - the FSA reads it too.
*As of 2026. Fees under Schedule 1 of the Virtual Asset Business Act; deposit and capital under the FSA Guidelines in force since 18 November 2025. The deposit at the licensed bank is pledged to the FSA as trustee.
We provide end-to-end support, from company registration and the compliance file to regulatory interaction and compliance oversight - with an individualized approach to each client.
15 years in FinTech and payments. Maps your business model to the right structure - a Saint Vincent BC or LLC and its FSA registration, with onshore licences paired where a market calls for them - and leads it to a compliant launch, including banking and payment rails.
Builds the file itself: the company, the AML/KYC policy pack, the business plan and the fit-and-proper documents the FSA reads. His document sets are the reason reviews finish in months, not years.
First point of contact for international founders. Runs the whole setup remotely, across time zones and languages - from the first call to a registered, properly scoped business.
Full-service setup - a Business Company or LLC, the FSA registration file under the Virtual Asset Business Act, the deposit bank and the compliance roles.
Get a consultation →Our legal team will analyze your case at no cost and provide a written legal opinion: which of the five activities you fall under, what the registration will cost and how long the file takes.
Yes, since 31 May 2025. The Financial Services Authority registers virtual asset businesses under the Virtual Asset Business Act No. 9 of 2022 and issues a Certificate of Registration; its own pages call it both a registration and a licence. Before that date there was no regime at all.
Five activities: exchange between virtual assets and fiat, exchange between virtual assets, transfer of virtual assets, custody or administration, and financial services for an issuer's offer or sale. Pure technology providers, people moving their own coins and businesses that merely pay in crypto are outside it.
Yes. The FSA's position is that a Business Company or LLC incorporated in Saint Vincent registers wherever the services are provided from - and must also hold whatever licence the client's country requires.
Only a Business Company or a Limited Liability Company incorporated in Saint Vincent. The application goes in through a registered agent licensed by the FSA.
The FSA quotes about 90 days for a complete file. Fees are EC$4,000 to apply, EC$12,000 to register and EC$12,000 at each renewal; the certificate runs to 31 December and is renewed by 31 January.
Authorised capital of EC$300,000 with at least EC$50,000 paid up, and a statutory deposit of EC$100,000 or 25% of client obligations, whichever is greater, pledged to the FSA at a bank licensed under the Banking Act 2015. Professional indemnity cover of EC$300,000 sits on top.
A physical office is optional. The Act wants a principal representative resident in SVG, a local business address, an AML/CFT compliance officer and a chief information security officer.
Saint Vincent does not tax the foreign-source income of a Business Company. Owners still carry tax where they sit, and the registered business files audited accounts and quarterly reports with the FSA.
A different file. The FSA states that it issues no licences for forex trading or brokerage, and that a Saint Vincent BC or LLC in that business must hold a licence from the jurisdictions where its clients are located. Anyone selling an SVG forex licence is still misrepresenting.
Yes, since 31 May 2025 - FSA registration under the VABA.
Five activities: exchange, transfer, custody, issuance.
Registration is still required.
Only a Saint Vincent BC or LLC.
About 90 days; EC$4,000 + EC$12,000 a year.
EC$50,000 paid up (EC$300,000 authorised), deposit from EC$100,000.
No - a resident representative and an address.
Foreign-source income untaxed.
No FSA licence - one from the clients' countries is needed.
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Get a free legal opinion on your project - our legal team will analyze your case at no cost and provide a written legal opinion: the activity list, the registration file and the timeline.Free legal opinion: your activity list under the Act, the cost of the registration and the timeline - what fits your project.
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 Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Financial Services Authority or any other public authority. Registrations are granted by, and licences obtained directly from, the competent authorities.
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