Belgium · MiCA-authorized CASP
Buy a CASP in Belgium — MiCA-authorized crypto license
Cadena Brokers represents acquirers searching for a Belgian Crypto-Asset Service Provider. Every entity we present has been pre-vetted for regulatory standing with the FSMA, banking continuity, and the change-of-control mechanics that an inbound buyer will face under the Law of 11 December 2025.
This page is for the buyer. If you are looking to sell a CASP, this is not your channel.
Why Belgium
FSMA supervision and a fresh post-MiCA market
Belgium took its time transposing the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. The Law of 11 December 2025 finally assigned domestic supervisory powers to the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), with the National Bank of Belgium acting as joint prudential supervisor. From that date, the FSMA can grant authorizations under Article 63 of MiCA and oversee Title V services from Brussels.
The acquirer-relevant fact: Belgium had no prior VASP registration regime. There is no grandfather pool of pre-existing Belgian crypto firms waiting to be bought. The inventory of authorized CASPs is being built from zero, application by application, since the December 2025 transposition. That scarcity is the buy-side dynamic. (Once an entity is authorized in Belgium, it passports across the EU 27 — exactly the point of MiCA.)
Foreign-licensed CASPs from earlier-transposing Member States can serve Belgian clients until 1 July 2026, or until the FSMA grants or refuses authorization, whichever comes first. After that date, only entities authorized either in Belgium or in another EU Member State (and passporting in) can operate.
Scope
What an FSMA-authorized CASP permits
An authorization under Title V of MiCA covers any combination of ten enumerated services. The minimum capital requirement under Article 67 scales with scope: €50,000 for custody, advice, portfolio management, placement, and order reception/transmission; €125,000 for exchange and order execution; €150,000 for the operation of a trading platform.
The services in scope:
- Custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients
- Operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets
- Exchange of crypto-assets for funds and exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets
- Execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients
- Placement of crypto-assets
- Reception and transmission of orders
- Advice on crypto-assets, and portfolio management
- Transfer services for crypto-assets
Two segregation rules matter for diligence. First, portfolio-management and advisory CASPs may not hold client funds, client-owned crypto-assets, or the means of access. Second, custodial CASPs operate under MiCA’s broader segregation regime. Confirm in any target’s compliance policy how the two are reconciled inside one operating entity, since multi-service authorizations frequently sit there.
Inventory profile
What we broker here
Belgian CASP targets in our book share a profile: a single Belgian operating entity with FSMA authorization or a live application file at advanced stage, a banking relationship that has survived MiCA-onboarding scrutiny (this is the gate where most Belgian acquisitions stall), an AML programme tested against the FSMA’s consumer-protection focus, and a small but retainable compliance team. Pre-MiCA crypto teams in Belgium are scarce; the post-MiCA wave is small enough that key-person retention is part of the deal economics.
We do not name targets in public materials. The acquirer-profile language above describes the diligence gates we use when shortlisting; the actual entity, ownership, and authorization status are released under NDA only.
Acquisition process
From shortlist to FSMA approval
The path mirrors any qualifying-shareholding acquisition in EU financial services: NDA, anonymized shortlist, target reveal, structured access to data room, term sheet, FSMA notification under MiCA Articles 81-82 (qualifying-holding regime), conditions-precedent, closing. The FSMA assesses fit-and-proper for the new ultimate beneficial owners, source-of-funds documentation, and the post-acquisition business plan.
Cadena handles the brokerage side. Belgian counsel sits alongside the buyer for the FSMA filing. We can introduce one if the buyer has not already chosen.
Why Cadena
Buy-side mandate, fintech-only focus
- Buy-side only. We do not represent sellers anywhere. Every introduction we make is to a target whose owners have agreed to entertain a sale; we never trawl your interest back into the market.
- Pre-vetted inventory. Targets reach our shortlist after an FSMA-standing check, banking continuity confirmation, and a sanctions/litigation pass. The Belgian CASP cohort is small; we have looked at it.
- Speed without shortcuts. Expedited closings on Belgian CASP files are realistic where the seller has clean records and the FSMA file is in order. We do not promise calendar weeks; we do execute without delay.
FAQ
Belgium CASP — buy-side questions
How do I buy a CASP license in Belgium?
You do not buy the license itself. You acquire the Belgian legal entity that holds the FSMA authorization, through a share purchase that triggers MiCA’s qualifying-shareholding approval under Articles 81-82. Cadena identifies a target whose owners are open to a sale, structures the SPA, and runs the change-of-control filing alongside Belgian counsel. The license travels with the entity once the FSMA approves the new shareholder.
What does a MiCA license in Belgium cover?
An FSMA authorization under Title V of MiCA covers the crypto-asset services the entity applies for and is granted: custody, exchange, trading platform operation, order execution, placement, order reception/transmission, advice, portfolio management, and transfer services. Once authorized, the entity passports across the EU 27 — that is the practical value of acquiring a Belgian CASP rather than relying on offshore arrangements.
Is the FSMA the only Belgian regulator for crypto-asset services?
The FSMA is the lead competent authority for CASP authorization and conduct supervision. The National Bank of Belgium handles prudential matters jointly under the Law of 11 December 2025. For acquirers, the FSMA is the primary touchpoint on change-of-control filings; the NBB enters the picture if the target also holds, or aspires to, an EMI or PI authorization.
How does change-of-control approval work when buying a Belgian CASP?
MiCA Articles 81-82 set the qualifying-holding regime. Any acquisition reaching the 10%, 20%, 30%, or 50% threshold of capital or voting rights requires prior FSMA notification and approval. The regulator assesses the fit-and-proper standing of the proposed ultimate beneficial owners, source of funds, and the post-acquisition business plan. The notification window is statutory; the FSMA has 60 working days to oppose, extendable by 30 days for additional information.
When does the MiCA transitional period end in Belgium?
1 July 2026, or the date on which a transitioning CASP is granted or refused FSMA authorization, whichever falls earlier. After that, only entities authorized in Belgium or passporting in from another EU Member State can lawfully provide crypto-asset services to Belgian clients. This is one reason inventory is forming now: every Belgian-domiciled crypto operator that wants to keep trading after July must either get authorized or be acquired by someone who can carry the file across the line.
Next step
Request the Belgium CASP shortlist
Brief us on your strategic profile and target services. We respond with the current Belgium CASP shortlist and a structured route to first contact. See also EU-wide CASP coverage, the MiCA licence framework, and sibling pages for Germany and the Netherlands.
