Registration and authorization of a crypto business: the anatomy of the process
Carrying on a business in virtual assets in Georgia rests on two steps: first, the definition of the entity and the ordering of its services, and second, registration with the National Bank and conformity with its authorization requirements. The law describes this process in detail: who supervises, what registration demands, what follows it, and who orders the rules themselves. On this page we explain the mechanism stage by stage.
If your question is the licence itself rather than the anatomy of the stages, our dedicated guide on VASP licence in Georgia walks through the full registration cycle with the National Bank.
Stage one: registration and its conditions
A virtual asset service provider is obliged to register with the National Bank and to satisfy its requirements. The rules of registration, deregistration and regulation are determined by a normative act of the National Bank — the concrete shape of the process therefore changes with the regulator's acts, and knowing them precisely is part of the preparation. Registration carries strict conditions: providing services through an unregistered person is impermissible, and a registered provider is prohibited from carrying on activity other than the provision of the services, the ancillary activity connected with them and the exchange of its own virtual asset. Supervision itself includes registration and its cancellation, inspection and regulation, instructions, restrictions and sanctions.
Stage two: the compliance that follows registration
Authorization is not a one-off event. The list of the National Bank's powers defines what a provider must reckon with after registration as well: on-site or remote inspection; audit of accounting documents and reporting; the demand and receipt of any information, including confidential information. The permanent foundation of compliance consists of the requirements the Bank imposes through legal acts: the minimum supervisory capital and its calculation; criteria towards capital and assets; standards for the storage of assets; standards for the management of risks — including operational and cyber-security risks — and a general risk-management framework; the accompanying information for transfers; and requirements towards holders of a significant share and administrators. On violation the Bank may restrict or suspend the activity and impose a sanction, including a monetary fine.
Stage three: governance and control — who and how
Who stands behind this regime? Under the organic law on the National Bank, the main task of the Bank is to ensure price stability, and supervision of the financial sector is among its functions. The council of the Bank provides the supreme governance and oversight of the Bank's activity. The council's powers directly concern providers: it defines the main directions of the supervision and regulation of the financial sector and issues legal acts — it is in these acts that the rules of registration and regulation a provider works under are born. Among the council's functions are also the consideration of the Bank's reporting and its submission to Parliament, which secures the public character of the regulation.