Latvia Crypto-Asset Services Law (2024)

The law’s stated purpose is to promote development of the crypto-asset field and establish a legal framework for the operation of the crypto-asset market in Latvia. It applies to persons engaged in the issuance, public offer, or admission to trading of crypto-assets, as well as persons providing crypto-asset services in Latvia.

The law uses MiCA definitions by reference. That design makes the Latvian act a domestic implementation and supervisory statute for a directly applicable EU regulation rather than a standalone crypto code.

Under the law, an applicant planning to provide crypto-asset services, where it is not already a Latvijas Banka-supervised financial market participant, pays EUR 2,500 for review of a CASP authorisation application. An applicant planning to offer or admit to trading an asset-referenced token pays EUR 2,500, while a supervised financial market participant pays EUR 1,250 for each additional asset-referenced token application, subject to a EUR 5,000 annual cap.

A MiCA-authorised crypto-asset service provider under Article 63 must pay Latvijas Banka up to 0.6% per year of gross revenues related to crypto-asset services, with a minimum annual payment of EUR 3,000. Latvijas Banka’s public guidance states that MiCA authorisation requirements for crypto-asset services apply from December 30, 2024, and lists covered services such as custody, trading-platform operation, exchange, order execution, placing, advice, portfolio management, and transfer services.

The law gives Latvijas Banka authority to impose sanctions and administrative measures for failures to comply with referenced MiCA requirements. The covered areas include white papers and marketing communications, asset-referenced tokens, e-money tokens, CASP authorisation and conduct obligations, inside information, insider dealing, unlawful disclosure, market manipulation, market-abuse detection, and the provision of information to Latvijas Banka.

Sanctions may include warnings, monetary fines, temporary or long-term management bans for specified violations, and cancellation of authorisations to issue, offer, admit to trading, or provide crypto-asset services. Appeals of Latvijas Banka administrative acts go to the Regional Administrative Court, although appeals generally do not suspend non-fine administrative acts.

The transitional provisions allowed certain crypto-asset service providers that began providing services before December 30, 2024 and were supervised by the State Revenue Service under Latvia’s AML law to continue without Latvijas Banka authorisation until June 30, 2025. If such a provider filed by that date, it could continue while Latvijas Banka reviewed the application and reached a decision.

Latvijas Banka began accepting EU MiCA licence applications on January 2, 2025. A Latvian MiCA licence can support cross-border EU service provision through MiCA passporting, but this profile is a legal-reference summary and does not provide legal, tax, investment, or compliance advice.