BUY-SIDE ACQUISITION · SLOVAKIA
Buy a CASP in Slovakia — MiCA-authorised crypto licence via Národná banka Slovenska
Acquiring a Slovak crypto-asset service provider gives a buyer a Title V MiCA authorisation, supervised by Národná banka Slovenska under the Slovak MiCA Act (Act No. 248/2024 Coll.), and a passport across the twenty-seven member states. We act for the acquirer only — sourcing the right target, running the diligence, and steering the change-of-control file through the NBS authorisation desk in Bratislava.
WHY SLOVAKIA
A small CASP universe with a working register and a clear transitional cliff
Slovakia transposed MiCA late but cleanly. The National Council adopted Act No. 248/2024 Coll. on certain obligations and authorisations in the field of crypto-assets in September 2024, and Národná banka Slovenska (Národná banka Slovenska — NBS) became the sole competent authority for CASP authorisation, prudential supervision, and conduct enforcement under Articles 60–62 of MiCA. The legacy regime — registration with the Financial Intelligence Unit (Finančná spravodajská jednotka, the FIU) under Act No. 297/2008 Coll. on AML — sits alongside, not above, the new authorisation regime. FIU-registered VASPs that filed activity before 30 December 2024 hold transitional cover until 30 June 2026, the default Article 143(3) grandfathering cut-off Slovakia adopted without shortening.
For a buy-side mandate that line is the calendar. Acquirers who buy before mid-2026 inherit a target that is already operating; acquirers who wait may find the same target in run-off, mid-application, or quietly absorbed by a sibling. The Slovak CASP cohort is small — a population on which NBS supervisory caselaw is still forming — so a serious acquirer benefits from early positioning rather than late price discovery. Crypto licence in Slovakia for sale is not a deep market; it is a defined window.
LICENCE SCOPE
What a Slovakia CASP authorisation actually permits
A MiCA-CASP authorisation in Slovakia covers the Title V Chapter 3 service catalogue: custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients, operation of a trading platform, exchange of crypto-assets for funds or for other crypto-assets, execution of orders, placement, reception and transmission of orders, advice on crypto-assets, portfolio management of crypto-assets, and transfer services. The acquirer chooses the scope at the application stage; once authorised, the same legal entity passports across the EEA via the Article 65 notification.
Initial-capital requirements follow Article 67 and Annex IV of MiCAR rather than national figures. EUR 50,000 for class-1 firms (advice, reception and transmission of orders, placement). EUR 125,000 for class-2 firms (exchange, execution, transfer, trading-platform operation). EUR 150,000 for class-3 firms (custody, portfolio management). Own funds must remain at the higher of that floor or one quarter of the previous year’s fixed overheads, calculated and supervised by NBS. Governance provisions (Article 68) require a Slovakia-effective management presence, fit-and-proper directors, and a written compliance and risk programme proportionate to the services authorised. Acquirers who plan to add custody or stablecoin issuance to a leaner existing scope should expect NBS to treat that as a substantive variation rather than a notification.
WHAT WE BROKER HERE
Targets that survive the NBS change-of-control file
The Slovak CASP universe is narrow. Buying it well means screening targets where (a) the FIU register entry is current and free of supervisory measures, (b) the AML/CFT programme already runs at MiCA-grade — not just the older 297/2008 baseline — and (c) the banking relationships actually bank crypto flow rather than tolerate it. Two of those gates fail more often than the regulatory one. The diligence we run looks for euro IBAN access at a commercial bank willing to keep the relationship after closing, a designated MLRO with attested fit-and-proper status, segregated client-asset arrangements consistent with Article 70, and a Travel Rule pipeline ready for the TFR (Regulation 2023/1113), which Slovakia transposed in parallel.
A point worth flagging in advance. The FIU-VASP register is not a CASP. Acquirers who don’t read the transitional regime carefully sometimes buy a 248/2024-grandfathered shell that has not actually filed the full CASP file with NBS, and end up financing the authorisation post-acquisition rather than acquiring an authorised firm. Our diligence confirms the authorisation file is in (or already cleared), not merely that the seller is on the FIU register. That distinction is where most casual sellers test the buyer’s homework.
ACQUISITION PROCESS
From signed NDA to NBS non-objection
The sequence is the one we run for every regulated-firm acquisition: target identification and discreet outreach, signed NDA and information-memorandum review, structured diligence across regulatory, AML, financial, and IT, a price discussion that reflects the change-of-control conditions NBS is likely to set, share-purchase documentation, the qualifying-holdings notification under Article 42 of MiCAR, and completion against NBS non-objection. Expedited closings are achievable when the target’s authorisation file is well-kept and the acquirer is a known fit-and-proper. See our process page for the full sequence and the diligence index we work from.
WHY CADENA
How we work this jurisdiction
- Buy-side only. No double mandate. Every conversation we have with a Slovak CASP target is on instruction from a single named acquirer. The seller knows we don’t represent both sides; the NBS authorisation team knows which side we sit.
- Pre-vetted for change of control. We don’t put a target into a process we don’t think will clear NBS supervision. Fit-and-proper screen on the acquirer, qualifying-holdings file in draft before exclusivity, banking-continuity letters in hand at signing.
- MiCA-fluent diligence. The Slovak transitional regime is one document in a stack that includes Act 248/2024 Coll., Act 297/2008 Coll., the TFR transposition, and the EBA/ESMA Joint Guidelines under Article 96. We read it as a working file, not a thesis topic.
FAQ
What acquirers ask before opening a Slovakia mandate
How do I buy a CASP licence in Slovakia?
You acquire the legal entity that holds (or has filed for) the Národná banka Slovenska MiCA-CASP authorisation. The transaction is a share purchase, not a transfer of the licence itself, and it triggers a qualifying-holdings notification under Article 42 of MiCAR applied through the Slovak MiCA Act. NBS reviews the acquirer for fit-and-proper standing, source of funds, and the prudential coherence of the post-acquisition group. Closing is conditional on NBS non-objection. We run the full sourcing-to-completion sequence.
Are there crypto licences for sale in Slovakia?
The active universe is small. A modest cohort of FIU-registered VASPs sits in the transitional window until 30 June 2026, and the full CASP cohort is still forming. We don’t publish a target list, because most Slovak CASP owners only sell on a quiet-process basis. On instruction from a named acquirer with a defined scope and budget, we identify the targets that are open, run the outreach under NDA, and shortlist what survives a first-pass diligence read.
Can I buy a MiCA licence in Slovakia rather than apply directly?
“MiCA licence” and “CASP authorisation” describe the same instrument from different angles. MiCA is the regulation; CASP is the entity status it creates. Yes, you can acquire a Slovak entity that already holds (or is in the authorisation pipeline for) a Title V CASP authorisation, and the change-of-control route is materially faster than starting a fresh file with NBS. The trade-off is target scarcity: there are far more buyers than viable Slovak CASP shells, and price reflects that.
What capital does a Slovakia CASP need under MiCA Article 67?
Initial capital follows Annex IV of MiCAR, not a Slovakia-specific figure. EUR 50,000 for class-1 firms (advice, reception and transmission of orders, placement). EUR 125,000 for class-2 firms (exchange, execution, transfer, trading-platform operation). EUR 150,000 for class-3 firms (custody, portfolio management). Own funds must hold at the higher of that floor or 25% of the prior year’s fixed overheads, calculated under Article 67 and supervised by Národná banka Slovenska.
Does Národná banka Slovenska approve a change of control on a CASP acquisition?
Yes. Acquisition of CASPs falls within Title V Chapter 4 of MiCAR, which the Slovak MiCA Act assigns to NBS. The acquirer files a qualifying-holdings notification, NBS runs the fit-and-proper and prudential review, and the FIU is informed where AML obligations under Act 297/2008 Coll. are affected. Closing is conditional on NBS non-objection, and any subsequent material change to corporate bodies or qualifying holdings must be re-notified.
Can a Slovakia CASP passport across the EU under MiCA?
Yes. Once Národná banka Slovenska authorises the firm under Title V, it files an Article 65 notification to provide cross-border services into other member states, with ESMA maintaining the public register of authorised CASPs. Passporting is a notification, not a fresh authorisation, but the conduct-of-business expectations of the host NCA still apply. We map the post-acquisition passporting plan into the change-of-control file so the acquirer’s day-one operating geography is NBS-acknowledged before completion.
OPEN A MANDATE
Brief us on a Slovakia CASP acquisition
Tell us the acquirer, the scope of services, the post-acquisition geography, and the tolerance for transitional risk. We come back within a working day with a target read and a process recommendation.
