Iceland

DeFi Intel Research Desk2026-07-14Europe

Is crypto legal in Iceland? (2026)

Yes — cryptocurrency is legal in Iceland. Current status: Legal — MiCA (EEA). Oversight sits with Central Bank of Iceland. Full details — governing law, licensing, tax and dated enforcement history — follow below (last reviewed 2026-07-14).

Framework: EU MiCA (Regulation 2023/1114), applied through the EEA Agreement + Act No. 101/2025 on markets for virtual assets.

Iceland is not an EU member but applies MiCA as an EEA state. The regulation was incorporated into the EEA Agreement by EEA Joint Committee Decision No 41/2025 (adopted 20 February 2025, in force in the EEA on 24 June 2025), and Alþingi gave it domestic effect through Act No. 101/2025 on markets for virtual assets (lög um markaði fyrir sýndareignir), in force from 1 January 2026. The Central Bank of Iceland (Seðlabanki Íslands), which houses the country's financial supervision function (Fjármálaeftirlitið), is the national competent authority. On 25 June 2026 it authorised Myntkaup ehf. as Iceland's first MiCA crypto-asset service provider, licensed for custody and administration, exchange of crypto-assets for funds and for other crypto-assets, and transfer services. The transitional window for providers active before 30 December 2024 closed on 1 July 2026: on 24 June 2026 the Central Bank relayed ESMA's statement calling on unauthorised CASPs to wind down EU operations, noting that the equivalent rules are implemented in Icelandic law and apply equally in Iceland. Iceland's other notable MiCA presence is Monerium, an authorised electronic-money institution issuing the euro e-money token EURe under MiCA's EMT rules.

Tax treatment

Iceland has no crypto-specific tax statute; Skatturinn (Iceland Revenue and Customs) applies general income-tax rules. For individuals outside business activity, disposing of crypto — selling for fiat, swapping one cryptocurrency for another, or paying for goods and services — realises a taxable capital gain, taxed as capital income at Iceland's flat 22% capital-gains rate (unchanged since 2018). Moving crypto between one's own wallets is not a taxable event. Losses may only offset gains on the same cryptocurrency in the same tax year, and year-end holdings must be declared at market value in the annual return. Mining conducted in a business context is taxed as business income; incidental, minor mining falls under the ordinary personal income brackets.

Travel rule applicability

Status: EEA framework. The EU's recast Transfer of Funds Regulation (2023/1113), which extends FATF travel-rule data requirements to crypto-asset transfers, applies in the EU from 30 December 2024 and is EEA-relevant; its predecessor (Regulation 2015/847) was incorporated into the EEA Agreement by Joint Committee Decision No 198/2016. The exact date from which the recast regulation binds Icelandic CASPs is pending verification.

Notable enforcement actions

• 2026. First Icelandic CASP authorisation: Myntkaup ehf., granted by the Central Bank of Iceland on 25 June 2026.
• 2026. End of the MiCA transition (1 July 2026): the Central Bank publicised ESMA's call for CASPs without authorisation to cease normal operations, confirming the same rules apply in Iceland.

Public licensed CASP list

The ESMA interim MiCA register (July 2026 update) lists a single Iceland-authorised CASP: Myntkaup ehf., authorised 25 June 2026 by the Central Bank of Iceland for custody and administration, fiat and crypto-to-crypto exchange, and transfer services. CASPs authorised elsewhere in the EU/EEA can passport into Iceland — Austrian-licensed Bitpanda, for example, lists Iceland among its notified host states.

Comparison to neighbours

Compare Iceland crypto regulation with three geographically adjacent jurisdictions:

Doing business in Iceland — practical notes

New entrants apply to the Central Bank of Iceland for a MiCA CASP authorisation, which passports across the EU/EEA. Since 1 July 2026, providing in-scope crypto-asset services to Icelandic clients without a MiCA authorisation — domestic or passported — is unlawful; legacy registration under the pre-MiCA AML framework no longer suffices. Providers can be verified against the ESMA interim MiCA register.

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

• Seðlabanki Íslands — ESMA statement on unauthorised CASPs and the 1 July 2026 transition end (24 June 2026)
• ESMA — interim MiCA register, CASPs file (July 2026 update)
• Alþingi — register of enacted laws (Act No. 101/2025, markets for virtual assets)
• Skatturinn — Rafmynt (crypto tax treatment)
• Skatturinn — Söluhagnaður (22% capital-gains rate)
• LicenceMap — MiCA implementation tracker (Act 101/2025, EEA JCD 41/2025)
• Kaupr — MiCA in the Nordics and Baltics (Monerium EMT issuer)
• Waltio — Iceland crypto tax guide 2026