Editorial · SKY7 Insights
Licensing guides, regulatory updates and field notes from the seniors who file. Written for founders deciding which licence, which jurisdiction, and what to expect before a regulator opens the file.
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99 entries
Australia's AML/CTF regime has expanded beyond exchange-only DCE registration to a broader digital asset service provider scope, and the reported transition registration deadline is 29 July 2026. Here is who is caught and what the three realistic options are.
SRO affiliation is AML supervision, not a FINMA licence. What SO-FIT, VQF and ARIF actually do, how the three differ in practice, and how to choose - including when buying an affiliated entity beats applying.
Safeguarding is a licence requirement, yet credit institutions hesitate to onboard EMIs with no operating history. Why banks say no, and the working approach that gets the account open in step with the licence.
When you buy a regulated company, the regulator investigates you. What the fit-and-proper file contains, how to prepare it before signing, and why ownership opacity is the number-one deal killer.
The quickest way into MiCA-regulated crypto services may be buying a company that already holds CASP authorisation. How the change-of-control assessment works, and what to check in a target before you sign.
The Bank of Lithuania's statutory review is three months - yet real EMI authorisations across the EU run nine to twelve. Here is where the other months go, phase by phase.
FINTRAC MSB registration is measured in weeks - but the end-to-end Canadian launch runs 2-4 months. A stage-by-stage look at where applications actually get stuck, including the banking stage most published timelines omit.
On 12 January 2026 the DFSA abolished its prescribed list of Recognised Crypto Tokens. DIFC firms now decide which tokens they may engage with - against five documented suitability criteria in GEN Rule 3A.2.1. What changed, what it costs, and where the DFSA's perimeter ends and VARA's begins.
Buying a licensed company transfers more - and less - than most buyers expect. Here is what actually carries over in a share purchase, and what you will rebuild from scratch.
When you buy a licensed company, the regulator's change-of-control step sets the closing date. We compare the statutory windows - and what actually stops the clock - across the FCA, Bank of Lithuania, FINTRAC, MiCA and VARA.
A licence attaches to the company, not to a certificate you can hand over. Here is how regulators vet a new owner, step by step, and why the approval window, not the negotiation, usually sets the deal timeline.
Most of what ranks for "UK EMI licence cost" carries invented numbers. The real ones sit in two official schedules: FEES 3 Annex 10R for the FCA's application fees and Schedule 2 to the Electronic Money Regulations for capital - still euro-denominated. Here is the full cost picture as of July 2026, including the safeguarding compliance step-change that now dominates the budget.
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