Lithuania

DeFi Intel Research Desk2026-07-12Europe

Is crypto legal in Lithuania? (2026)

Yes — cryptocurrency is legal in Lithuania. Current status: Legal — MiCA (EU). Oversight sits with Bank of Lithuania. Full details — governing law, licensing, tax and dated enforcement history — follow below (last reviewed 2026-07-12).

Framework: EU MiCA (Regulation 2023/1114) + Law on Markets in Crypto-Assets (adopted 11 July 2024).

Lithuania — long one of the EU's busiest VASP registration hubs — has completed the shift to full MiCA licensing. The Law on Markets in Crypto-Assets (11 July 2024) designated the Bank of Lithuania as the licensing and supervisory authority for crypto-asset service providers, with the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FCIS) co-supervising AML/CFT. MiCA became fully applicable on 30 December 2024, when CASP applications opened. Lithuania initially set one of the EU's shortest transitions for legacy registered VASPs — to 31 May 2025 — then extended it: registration-regime VASPs had to obtain a MiCA licence by 31 December 2025 to continue operating. The Bank of Lithuania granted the country's first CASP licence on 29 May 2025 to Robinhood Europe, UAB, the US broker's European hub, covering custody and administration, transfer services, execution of orders, and reception and transmission of orders — passportable across the EU/EEA. Application quality has been the bottleneck: by mid-2025 roughly 22 applications had been filed but most were deficient (unconfirmed owner source-of-funds, incomplete files), per licensing analyses of Bank of Lithuania assessments.

Tax treatment

Pending verification — DeFi Intel has not verified Lithuania-specific crypto tax guidance in this research cycle.

Travel rule applicability

Status: EU framework. AML/CFT supervision of crypto-asset service providers sits with the FCIS, alongside the Bank of Lithuania's prudential and conduct supervision under MiCA.

Notable enforcement actions

• 2025. First Lithuanian MiCA CASP licence issued to Robinhood Europe, UAB (licence dated 29 May 2025 in the Bank of Lithuania register).
• 2025. The transitional deadline for legacy registered VASPs was extended from 31 May 2025 to 31 December 2025; providing in-scope services without a MiCA licence after that date is unlawful.

Public licensed CASP list

The Bank of Lithuania publishes the register of authorised CASPs; Robinhood Europe, UAB was the first licensee. Pre-MiCA VASP registrations under the FCIS-supervised regime — which had been tightened in 2022 with, among other things, a €125,000 capital requirement — ceased to confer authorisation for in-scope services at the end of the transition.

Comparison to neighbours

Compare Lithuania crypto regulation with three geographically adjacent jurisdictions:

Doing business in Lithuania — practical notes

New entrants apply to the Bank of Lithuania for a MiCA CASP licence and gain an EU/EEA passport on authorisation. The supervisor has shown low tolerance for weak applications — confirmed source of owners' funds, fit-and-proper management and complete documentation are the reported rejection points. The permissive registration-only era that once attracted hundreds of VASPs is over; Lithuania now competes on licensing speed and fintech infrastructure instead.

Methodology and sources

This profile was researched and updated by DeFi Intel's research desk on 2026-07-12 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

• Global Legal Insights — Lithuania blockchain & crypto laws (2025)
• Ecovis Lithuania — Robinhood first Lithuanian CASP licence (May 2025)
• Bank of Lithuania — Robinhood Europe, UAB register entry (licence 29 May 2025, official)
• Invest Lithuania — Robinhood European hub
• TET Legal — MiCA licensing in Lithuania (application statistics)
• Coincub — Lithuania VASP update (€125,000 capital requirement)