Finland Curated

DeFi Intel Research Desk2026-07-14Europe

Is crypto legal in Finland? (2026)

Yes — cryptocurrency is legal in Finland. Current status: Legal. Oversight sits with Finanssivalvonta (FIN-FSA). Full details — governing law, licensing, tax and dated enforcement history — follow below (last reviewed 2026-07-14).

Framework: MiCA (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114), directly applicable since 30 December 2024, supplemented by the Act on Crypto-Asset Service Providers and Crypto-Asset Markets (402/2024), which repealed the Act on Virtual Currency Providers (572/2019).

Finland was one of the fastest movers into the MiCA era. The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority — Finanssivalvonta (FIN-FSA) — is the competent authority: it grants and supervises CASP authorisations, oversees crypto-asset issuers, and applies AML/CFT rules to the sector. The national supplement, Act 402/2024 on crypto-asset service providers and crypto-asset markets, took effect alongside MiCA's full application on 30 December 2024 and simultaneously repealed the Act on Virtual Currency Providers (572/2019) — ending what had been one of the EU's more rigorous domestic virtual-currency regimes and replacing it with the harmonised European framework.

Finland also chose one of the EU's shortest grandfathering windows: six months, per ESMA's official list. Previously registered virtual currency providers could continue operating only until 30 June 2025 (or until a FIN-FSA authorisation decision, whichever came first), and only if they had filed their full CASP application by 30 October 2024. By the cliff, the registered incumbents had either converted or exited; five CASPs are now authorised with Finland as home member state (see the register list below). Financial entities already holding another Finnish licence can provide crypto-asset services via MiCA's notification route (Article 60) after notifying the FIN-FSA.

MiCA implementation and the FIN-FSA

The FIN-FSA runs authorisation on MiCA's statutory clock: it must assess whether an application is complete within 25 working days of receipt, then make a full qualitative assessment within 40 working days of a complete file. In practice the authority front-loaded the transition — publishing MiCA entry-into-force information and application requirements on its website in 2024 so incumbents could file before the 30 October 2024 grandfathering deadline — and the register shows a steady authorisation cadence through 2025 rather than a last-minute rush.

The first wave of authorised firms is dominated by the domestic incumbents of the old 572/2019 register — Coinmotion (whose earliest register entry dates to 2 July 2025, days after the transition ended), Tesseract, Bittimaatti, Northcrypto and Kvarn — a sign that Finland's strict pre-MiCA regime translated relatively smoothly into the new one. From 1 July 2025 the FIN-FSA's updated AML/CFT guidance explicitly brought CASPs within its scope.

Tax treatment

The Finnish Tax Administration (Verohallinto) treats crypto-assets as property: disposals fall under capital gains taxation as capital income, taxed at 30% up to €30,000 per year and 34% on the excess. Crypto-to-crypto exchanges are taxable events — income from the use or exchange of crypto-assets is taxed as capital gain, including when one crypto-asset is exchanged for another. There is no holding-period exemption, but long holders get meaningful relief through the deemed acquisition cost (hankintameno-olettama): instead of actual cost basis, sellers may deduct 20% of the sale price for assets held under 10 years, or 40% for assets held 10 years or more — a significant cut for early bitcoin adopters.

Losses are usable, unlike in Denmark: capital losses first offset capital gains, then other capital income, and unused losses carry forward for up to five years. Mining and staking are split by mechanism — proof-of-work mining rewards are earned income (progressive rates), while staking rewards are capital income. On 18 December 2025 the Tax Administration issued comprehensively updated crypto-asset taxation guidance (VH/3057/00.01.00/2025) consolidating its position for the MiCA era.

• Capital-gains rate: 30% up to €30,000 capital income / 34% above
• Crypto-to-crypto: taxable disposal
• Deemed acquisition cost: 20% (<10 years) or 40% (≥10 years) of sale price, in lieu of actual basis
• Losses: offset against gains, then capital income; 5-year carry-forward
• Mining (PoW): earned income; staking: capital income

Travel rule applicability

Status: yes — EU Transfer of Funds Regulation, no minimum threshold. Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 (the recast TFR) has applied since 30 December 2024 and is directly applicable in Finland: originator and beneficiary information must accompany crypto-asset transfers regardless of value, in line with the EBA's Travel Rule Guidelines applying from the same date. The FIN-FSA's AML/CFT guidance, updated with effect from 1 July 2025, explicitly incorporates CASPs and the no-threshold information requirement.

Notable enforcement and regulatory events

• July 2022. Finnish Customs (Tulli) sells 1,889 forfeited bitcoins — largely seized in drug investigations, including 1,666 BTC from a 2016 bust — for roughly €46.5 million, using Coinmotion and Tesseract as brokers; the finance minister pledged tens of millions of the proceeds to Ukraine. Both brokers later became MiCA-authorised CASPs.
• 30 December 2024. MiCA applies in full; Act 402/2024 enters into force and repeals the Act on Virtual Currency Providers (572/2019). Grandfathering was limited to firms that had applied by 30 October 2024.
• 30 June 2025. Finland's six-month transition — among the EU's shortest — ends; previously registered VASPs must hold CASP authorisation or cease operations. Days later, Coinmotion's authorisation (2 July 2025) opens the Finnish register.
• 1 July 2025. Updated FIN-FSA AML/CFT guidance takes effect, explicitly covering CASPs and no-threshold travel-rule compliance.
• 18 December 2025. The Tax Administration publishes comprehensively updated crypto-asset taxation guidance (VH/3057/00.01.00/2025).

Public licensed CASP list

Crypto-asset service providers authorised under MiCA with home member state Finland (competent authority: Finanssivalvonta (FIN-FSA)), per ESMA's consolidated CASP register:

• Coinmotion Oy — authorised 2 Jul 2025 — custody; exchange (crypto–fiat); order execution; transfers
• Tesseract Investment Oy — authorised 12 Sep 2025 — custody; reception & transmission of orders; advice; portfolio management; transfers
• Bittimaatti Oy — authorised 12 Sep 2025 — exchange (crypto–fiat)
• NorthCrypto Oy — authorised 25 Nov 2025 — custody; order execution; reception & transmission of orders; transfers
• Kvarn Capital Oy (Kvarn X) — authorised 2 Dec 2025 — custody; order execution; reception & transmission of orders; transfers

Complete register list for Finland (5 entries). Source: ESMA interim MiCA register — authorised crypto-asset service providers, as of July 2026.

Comparison to neighbours

Compare Finland crypto regulation with three geographically adjacent jurisdictions:

Doing business in Finland — practical notes

Finland is a predictable, if unforgiving, place to run a crypto business: the rules moved to MiCA early, the transition is fully over, and the FIN-FSA's process runs on the regulation's statutory deadlines (25 working days for completeness, 40 for assessment). New entrants need a FIN-FSA CASP authorisation or an EU passport from another home state; Finnish financial institutions with existing licences can use the Article 60 notification route. The domestic market is served by five home-authorised CASPs — Coinmotion, Tesseract, Bittimaatti, Northcrypto and Kvarn (see the register list above). For investors, the 30/34% capital-income treatment is middle-of-the-road for the Nordics, and the deemed-acquisition-cost election (40% of sale price after 10 years) is the single most valuable planning lever for long-term holders; PoW mining income, by contrast, lands in progressive earned-income taxation. The 18 December 2025 Verohallinto guidance is the current reference for filings.

Methodology and sources

This profile was researched and updated by DeFi Intel's research desk on 2026-07-14 from the primary and secondary sources listed below. Claims that could not be verified against a source are omitted or marked pending — we do not republish unverified third-party datasets. Submit corrections and primary-source links to research@defi-intel.com.

Sources

• FIN-FSA — Crypto-asset activities: authorisations, transition period and notification procedure
• Finlex — Laki kryptovarapalvelun tarjoajista ja kryptovaramarkkinoista (402/2024)
• ESMA — List of grandfathering periods under Article 143(3) MiCA (Finland: 6 months)
• Chambers — Blockchain & Crypto-Assets 2026, Finland (repeal of 572/2019, transition end, AML guidance, Vero guidance VH/3057/00.01.00/2025)
• Finnish Tax Administration — Taxation of virtual currencies (30/34%, deemed acquisition cost, mining vs staking, losses)
• Finnish Customs — Two operators to sell Finnish Customs' cryptocurrencies (Coinmotion, Tesseract)
• Decrypt — Finnish Customs sells off seized bitcoin, proceeds pledged to Ukraine (July 2022)
• Helsinki Times — Finnish Customs sold its legally forfeited cryptocurrencies (1,889.1 BTC, €46.5M)
• EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets
• EBA — Travel rule guidance for transfers of funds and crypto-assets (applying 30 December 2024)