On-shore VASP in Belgium

Required: Registration with the FSMA.

Scope: This includes services for the exchange between virtual currencies and fiat currencies, as well as exchange services between one or more virtual currencies.

Scope: This covers services that provide the safekeeping and management of virtual currencies on behalf of clients, including holding private cryptographic keys.

Current Regime (Belgium): It is a registration regime, primarily focused on AML/CTF compliance. It does not imply a full prudential licensing similar to banks, traditional investment firms, or e-money institutions. The FSMA grants "registration" but does not "license" in the broader financial sense that implies comprehensive prudential oversight of capital, risk management beyond AML, consumer protection, etc.

Future Regime (EU MiCA): The upcoming EU Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation will introduce a comprehensive, harmonized licensing regime across the EU for a much broader range of crypto-asset services. This will supersede the current national AML-driven registration frameworks for many activities.

Law of 18 September 2017:

The primary Belgian transposition of AMLD5 is the Act of 5 August 2020 implementing the fifth Anti‑Money Laundering Directive, which amends the Act of 18 September 2017 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and on the restriction of the use of cash; it can be found on the official Belgian legislative database (e.g., https://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/loi/loi.htm) by searching by date and title.

Requirement: Providers of "custodian wallet services" are required to register with the FSMA. This is not a full financial services license but an AML registration.

Legal Basis: The Law of 18 September 2017 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and on the restriction of the use of cash. Specifically, Article 5, §1, 37° designates "providers of custodian wallets" as entities subject to AML/CFT obligations.

In Belgium’s twin‑peaks model, virtual asset service providers and similar intermediaries that fall under the FSMA’s remit must register and provide information on the company, its governance and internal organization, shareholders, and their AML/CFT policies and procedures. The FSMA assesses these elements in line with its conduct‑of‑business and AML supervisory role, while key prudential and certain fit‑and‑proper/AML responsibilities for many institutions lie with the National Bank of Belgium (NBB).

Authorization: Providers of "safekeeping and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients" will need to obtain authorization as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) from their national competent authority (the FSMA in Belgium). This is a more comprehensive authorization than the current AML registration.

Explicit Mandate: MiCA explicitly mandates the segregation of client assets.

Details (Article 67(2)): Providers of safekeeping and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients must:

EU Level: Yes, the FATF Travel Rule (Recommendation 16) has been adopted at the EU level through the recast Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR). This is Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, which specifically extends the rules on information accompanying transfers of funds to transfers of crypto-assets.

Belgian Level: As an EU Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 is directly applicable in Belgium without the need for national transposition into Belgian law. Belgium's existing AML/CFT framework (primarily the Law of 18 September 2017) provides the national enforcement and supervisory structure, and will be supplemented by the TFR.

The recast Transfer of Funds Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 will apply from 30 December 2024.

The Travel Rule applies to all crypto-asset transfers involving a CASP, but with differentiated requirements based on transaction value: transfers below €1,000 require only wallet addresses (originator and beneficiary distributed ledger addresses), while transfers of €1,000 or more require full identifying information including names, addresses, and IDs. For self-hosted wallets, ownership verification is only required for amounts exceeding €1,000.

Unlike traditional wire transfers where there might be a threshold for full data collection, for crypto-asset transfers handled by CASPs, there is no de minimis threshold. Information must be collected and transmitted for every transaction.

Penalties for non-compliance with AML/CFT obligations in Belgium are primarily established in the Law of 18 September 2017 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing and on the limitation of the use of cash (as amended), which remains the core AML/CFT framework but has since been supplemented and strengthened by additional measures and supervisory powers, including enhanced sanctions and public-naming powers introduced following Belgium’s recent FATF evaluation.

In the Belgian context, FSMA refers to the Financial Services and Markets Authority, a financial regulator that can impose substantial administrative sanctions (including high monetary fines, public warnings/reprimands, and withdrawal of authorisation) under Belgian financial legislation. This is distinct from the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which is a U.S. food safety law enforced by the FDA and does not act as a Belgian supervisory authority or impose euro‑denominated travel‑rule fines.

Criminal Penalties: Serious or repeated breaches can also lead to criminal sanctions, including imprisonment for natural persons and substantially higher criminal fines for both natural and legal persons.

Impact: Extended the scope of AML/CFT rules to include providers engaged in exchange services between virtual currencies and fiat currencies, and custodian wallet providers. This mandated registration requirements at the national level.

The NBB shares AML/CFT supervision of crypto-asset service providers with the ECB under the AMLA framework (2025), with the ECB now holding primary prudential oversight of significant crypto firms, while the NBB retains registration and AML/CFT responsibilities for smaller/non-significant providers.

Impact: MiCA provides a harmonized regulatory framework across the EU for crypto-assets not covered by existing financial services legislation. It covers the issuance, public offering, and admission to trading of various crypto-assets, as well as the authorization and supervision of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). This is the most significant piece of legislation for the future of crypto regulation in Belgium.

Legal Basis: The Law of 18 September 2017 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and on the restriction of the use of cash. Specifically, Article 5, §1, 37° designates "providers of custodian wallets" as entities subject to AML/CFT obligations.

Rate: Taxed as "professional income" at progressive personal income tax rates (which can go up to 50% for the highest brackets, plus municipal surcharges).

Rate: Taxed under corporate income tax rules. The standard corporate tax rate in Belgium is currently 25% (for large companies; reduced rates may apply for small and medium-sized enterprises on the first €100,000 of profit under certain conditions).

Miscellaneous Income: 33% for speculative gains.

Corporate Income Tax: 25% (standard) for businesses.

Professional Income: Progressive personal income tax rates (up to 50%+) for professional activity.