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.
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.
What this means for a provider
The position of a provider within this frame is two-sided. On the one hand, it works under clearly defined rules: the rules are public, promulgated through normative acts, and changes are reflected in them. On the other hand, the rules are changeable: by acts of the Bank's council the minimum capital, the risk-management requirements or the content of transfer-related information may change. Readiness therefore means not a package compiled once, but permanent monitoring and internal systems built so that new requirements plug into them quickly. In our experience, the greatest cost arises from changes discovered too late.
How we can help
We accompany you along the whole route of registration and authorization: we assess whether your model is subject to registration, plan the preparatory stages from the ownership structure to risk management, assist in communication with the regulator and in maintaining compliance afterwards. Contact us — we will plan your specific route.
Grounds for restriction and instruments of protection
The law separately names the cases in which the National Bank may intervene in the activity of a provider: where the activity, or a relationship with another provider, creates heightened risks connected with money laundering and the financing of terrorism, a risk of circumventing international financial sanctions, or impedes the traceability of executed transactions or the exercise of supervision. In such a case the Bank may suspend or restrict a particular type of activity or operations, including by types of virtual asset. To this are added the power to issue legal acts for the protection of consumers, an exemption mechanism for a definite term or condition, and the determination of the liquidation procedure — the regulator thus holds not only entry but also presence in the market and exit.
The regulation of providers is part of the broader functions of the National Bank. Under the law, the Bank conducts monetary and exchange-rate policy, supervises the financial sector, ensures the functioning of the monetary system, holds and manages the official international reserves, promotes the safe functioning of the payment system and produces financial statistics. The council, as the supreme governing body, considers and approves the basic principles of managing the international reserves, the budget of the expenses of the Bank, the annual report, and submits that report to Parliament. This context explains why the Bank attends to providers with the same logic as to other financial subjects — from the standpoint of systemic stability and transparency.