Georgia crypto license 2026 — NBG VASP registration

What a crypto licence in Georgia actually is

For most of the last decade, Georgia was the place crypto businesses went to avoid licensing — cheap power for mining, low taxes, and no virtual-asset-specific regulation. That era is over. In 2023 the National Bank of Georgia introduced mandatory registration for Virtual Asset Service Providers, covering exchange, transfer, custody, administration, and related activity carried on from Georgia.

So a crypto licence in Georgia today means two things in practice — NBG VASP registration, the actual authorisation, and, optionally, a Free Industrial Zone setup for tax efficiency. They are different instruments doing different jobs, and one never substitutes for the other. The reputation lingers in old guides; the rules have moved on.

NBG VASP registration and Free Industrial Zones

The National Bank of Georgia is the supervisor. Its VASP regime requires providers to register, satisfy fit-and-proper standards on ownership and management, and run an AML/CFT compliance programme under Georgian law. This is registration with substance, not a rubber stamp — the NBG expects a real local entity and genuine AML controls.

On 8 September 2026 the NBG amended the rule to add minimum supervisory capital: GEL 150,000 for exchange (including through self-service kiosks) or transfer of convertible virtual assets, GEL 350,000 for administering a trading platform, and GEL 250,000 for other services, with the highest figure applying to a provider offering several. A stablecoin initial coin offering needs at least GEL 500,000, rising with reserve assets. The amendments also add requirements on operational risk, cybersecurity, operational processes and business continuity. Providers already registered have until 1 July 2027 for the risk-management framework and 1 September 2027 for capital.

Georgia's Free Industrial Zones — in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, and Poti — are special economic zones offering tax and customs advantages, popular with miners and some virtual-asset businesses. The distinction that trips people up: a FIZ gives you a tax and customs status, not a financial-services authorisation. Used correctly the two stack; used carelessly, operators end up optimised on tax and exposed on licensing.

Georgia versus an EU MiCA passport

Georgia became an EU candidate in December 2023. That is a political signal, not a market-access mechanism. Candidate status does not bring MiCA passporting — only EU or EEA membership does, and accession is years off and far from guaranteed.

So the comparison stays clean. A Georgia VASP registration gives you a credible, tax-efficient local regime for CIS and regional operations. A MiCA CASP authorisation gives you the EU single market. If your customers are EU residents, you need the latter, today, whatever Georgia's accession timeline looks like — Georgia is a complement to EU reach, not a substitute for it.