Regulation · Latvia
Crypto regulation in Latvia
Last updated: 1 May 2026
At a glance
- MiCA applicable: ✓ Yes (since 2024-12-30, transition period until 2026-07-01)
- Competent authority: Latvijas Banka (merged with the former FKTK on 2023-01-01)
- Capital-gains rate: 20% (since 1 January 2025)
- Advertising regulation: Latvian Advertising Law + Latvian Consumer Protection Law
- AML/KYC threshold: EUR 1,000 (for CASP clients)
1. Competent authority — Latvijas Banka
Since 1 January 2023, financial and capital-market supervision in Latvia has been handled by Latvijas Banka (LB), which absorbed the former Financial and Capital Market Commission (FKTK). So if you have seen older references to “FKTK” — that is now LB’s Supervision Department.
Latvijas Banka is the competent authority for MiCA in Latvia. It:
- Issues MiCA CASP licences
- Maintains the LV CASP registry
- Verifies AML/CTF compliance
- Handles complaints
Official registry: bank.lv/uzraudziba.
2. MiCA in Latvia — how it works
Markets in Crypto-Assets (Regulation 2023/1114), or MiCA, is a directly applicable EU legal act. That means a separate Latvian crypto law is not needed — MiCA applies to Latvia just as it does to every other EU member state.
Main areas:
- Custody services — holding client funds requires segregated accounts and security standards
- Exchange services — fiat ↔ crypto and crypto ↔ crypto exchanges are supervised
- Management services — portfolio management, advisory
- Asset-referenced and E-money tokens — stablecoin issuance
Transition period: Pre-MiCA registered service providers may operate until 1 July 2026, after which a full MiCA CASP licence is required or activity in the EU market must cease.
3. Crypto-advertising regulation in Latvia
NorriWire (Grab Solutions SIA) is not a CASP — so MiCA advertising rules do not apply to us directly. But they do apply to the services we review (exchanges, cards, etc.).
All crypto service providers and their partners in Latvia are subject to:
- Latvian Advertising Law (Section 7) — fair, non-impressionistic, non-misleading advertising
- MiCA Article 88 — advertising must be clearly identified as such; risks must be disclosed
- Consumer Protection Law, Section 2.1 — clear, fair information must be provided to the consumer before contract conclusion
Specifically — what is not allowed in advertising
- “Guaranteed profit” or “risk-free investment” — unlawful
- Hidden affiliate disclosure — unlawful (see our disclaimers)
- Missing risk disclosure — does not meet MiCA 88(1)(c)
- Targeted at minors (under 18) — unlawful
4. Taxes — State Revenue Service (VID)
4.1. Capital-gains tax
Since 1 January 2025, the capital-gains tax rate in Latvia has been 20% (down from the previous 25.5% base rate). This rate applies to crypto transactions.
Calculation: Capital gain = sale price − acquisition price − related costs (fees).
Allowance: The first €10,000 of natural-person capital gains in an income year is exempt from tax (Latvian Personal Income Tax Law, Section 8.5).
4.2. Filing
Crypto transactions are filed in VID’s Electronic Declaration System (EDS) — specifically:
- Form K-4 (Annex D) — capital gains from asset sales
- Form D — capital-gains declaration (annual return)
Deadline: the annual return is due by 1 June for the previous calendar year.
4.3. Cost-basis method
VID has not published a specific method, but in practice FIFO (First-In, First-Out) is the accepted default. Other methods (LIFO, HIFO, AVCO) can be used but require substantiation.
We recommend tax tools that generate the LV K-4 form — for example, Divly.
5. AML/KYC requirements
Latvia applies the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism and Proliferation Financing (NILLTPFN), which is harmonised with the EU 5th AML Directive.
Threshold for CASP customer identification — EUR 1,000 in a single transaction, or a combined EUR 1,000 in linked transactions within 7 days.
Supervisor: Financial Intelligence Service (FID).
6. CASPs operating in Latvia
A full list of CASPs in Latvia is in our CASP registry. Main ones with a MiCA licence:
- Bitpanda (BaFin, Germany) — passported into LV
- Coinmotion (FIN-FSA, Finland) — passported into LV
- Northcrypto (FIN-FSA, Finland) — passported into LV
- Bitstamp Europe (CSSF, Luxembourg) — passported into LV
- Kraken (CBI, Ireland) — passported into LV
MiCA CASP licences issued by Latvijas Banka (3 in total as of 2026-05-15):
- BlockBen (BlockBen SIA, 2025-12-03) — first Latvian MiCA CASP; B2B focus with token-issuance services
- Nexdesk (Nexdesk SIA, 2025-12-10) — second Latvian MiCA CASP; B2B OTC desk with Nexpay IBAN integration
- Paybis Europe (SIA Paybis Europe, 2026-05-12) — third Latvian MiCA CASP; B2C retail focus; first Latvian company to hold both a MiCA and a PSD2 EMI licence simultaneously
7. Consumer protection
If you have a complaint about a CASP, the order is:
- First — the CASP’s customer support (a written complaint)
- If unresolved — Latvijas Banka bank.lv/uzraudziba/sudzibas
- The Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC)
- A civil claim in the district court
Disclaimer
This material is a general informational overview, not legal advice. For specific questions, consult a licensed lawyer or certified accountant. Legislation can change — check the last-updated date at the top of the page.