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What is a VASP?

By Ben Tabas, Intrica Research · Updated · US and EU

Answer

A VASP, or virtual asset service provider, is the Financial Action Task Force's term for a business that exchanges, transfers, holds or helps sell crypto on behalf of other people. The FATF extended its anti-money laundering standards to VASPs in 2018, per Notabene's travel rule guide checked Oct. 28, 2026, and each country licenses them under its own law. The EU calls the same kind of firm a crypto-asset service provider, or CASP.

The five VASP activities

  • Exchanging crypto for fiat currency.
  • Exchanging one crypto asset for another.
  • Transferring crypto for someone else.
  • Safekeeping or administering crypto.
  • Financial services tied to an issuer's offer or sale of a token.

What being a VASP means

Notabene's travel rule guide, checked Oct. 28, 2026, says the FATF extended its anti-money laundering standards to VASPs in 2018. That includes the travel rule, which requires VASPs to share set customer data on transfers above a threshold.

Each country turns those standards into its own law and its own name for the licence.

Jersey's financial regulator says a business that starts any of the five activities after Jan. 24, 2023 must register before it starts.

VASP rules in the US and EU

  • US. FinCEN's guidance of May 9, 2019, says crypto exchangers and administrators generally qualify as money transmitters, and a money transmitter must register with FinCEN within 180 days of starting.
  • EU. Belgium's FSMA said on June 25, 2026, that every crypto-asset service provider must hold MiCA authorisation from July 1, 2026.
  • France. The AMF said on Feb. 5, 2026, that providers already operating before MiCA had until July 1, 2026, to be authorised, after which unauthorised firms must stop.
  • EU travel rule. The European Banking Authority's guidelines, issued July 4, 2024, apply from Dec. 30, 2024.

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Sources

  1. Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) · Jersey Financial Services Commission, Jan. 23, 2023Supports: The five VASP activities and the rule to register before starting.
  2. Virtual assets (VAs) and virtual asset service providers (VASPs): what are they? · Notabene, Oct. 28, 2026Supports: Checked: the FATF definition of a VASP, its 2018 extension of standards to VASPs, and the travel rule.
  3. Application of FinCEN's Regulations to Certain Business Models Involving Convertible Virtual Currencies (FIN-2019-G001) · FinCEN, May 9, 2019Supports: Exchangers and administrators generally qualify as money transmitters and must register with FinCEN within 180 days.
  4. Crypto-assets service providers: end of the transitional period · FSMA (Belgium), June 25, 2026Supports: MiCA authorisation required for every CASP from July 1, 2026.
  5. The AMF reminds digital asset service providers of the transitional period allowing them to continue providing services · AMF (France), Feb. 5, 2026Supports: Existing providers had until July 1, 2026, to obtain MiCA authorisation in France.
  6. EBA issues Travel Rule guidance to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing in transfers of funds and crypto-assets · European Banking Authority, July 4, 2024Supports: EU travel rule guidelines apply from Dec. 30, 2024.

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General information, not legal advice.

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