Remote VASP serving residents 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.

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:

Partial, Moving Towards Comprehensive: Before MiCA, Belgium's approach was characterized by specific AML/CFT regulations for certain crypto service providers, consumer warnings, and a general "wait and see" stance for broader market regulation. With MiCA's staggered implementation (July 2024 for stablecoins, December 2024 for other crypto-assets), Belgium is in the process of fully integrating a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto-asset issuance, trading, and services.

Focus Areas: AML/CFT, consumer protection, market integrity, and financial stability.

EU Harmonization: Belgium, as an EU member state, is directly impacted by and actively transposing/implementing EU regulations.

Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA - Autoriteit voor Financiële Diensten en Markten / Autorité des services et marchés financiers):

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 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.

Originator Information: Name, crypto-asset account number (or transaction identifier), address (or national ID/customer ID, date/place of birth).

Beneficiary Information: Name, crypto-asset account number (or wallet address)

Data Protection: Implementation must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regarding the collection, processing, and storage of personal data.

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.

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 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.