How To Check Crypto Exchange License

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The fastest scam filter in crypto is a database search that takes about two minutes. Almost nobody runs it.

Here’s the thing that took me embarrassingly long to internalize: every scam exchange claims to be licensed. All of them. Some real exchanges that later collapsed were licensed too, so the word itself tells you nothing. What tells you something is whether the license shows up in a government register you searched yourself. Not a badge on their footer. Not a PDF they email you. The actual regulator’s actual database.

I’ve run this check on dozens of platforms at this point, and the worst thing I ever found wasn’t a fake license. It was a real one that belonged to a different company than the one holding the money. We’ll get to that trap, because it catches careful people.

The short version

To check if a crypto exchange is licensed: find the exchange’s exact legal entity name in its footer or terms of service, find the regulator and license number it claims, then search that regulator’s official public register directly. Never verify through links the exchange gives you. The entity name on the register must match the one in the terms.

What a license actually buys you (and what it doesn’t)

A license isn’t a sticker. It’s a set of obligations with a supervisor attached. Depending on the country, a licensed exchange typically has to keep customer funds separate from company money, hold minimum capital, run AML programs, maintain a real complaints process, and answer to a regulator that can fine it or shut it down. An unlicensed platform owes you none of that. If it freezes your withdrawal, your recourse is a support ticket into the void.

Now the honest part. A license is not a guarantee. FTX held licenses and registrations in multiple jurisdictions and still managed to lose around $8 billion of customer money. Regulation lowers your risk and gives you legal standing when things go wrong. It does not make an exchange fail-proof. So treat “licensed” as the minimum bar, then keep stacking the other checks on top.

The 3-step routine

Step 1: Find the legal entity, not the brand

Scroll to the footer or open the Terms of Service and find the registered company name. Something like “Payward, Inc.” for Kraken, or “Coinbase Europe Limited”. Big exchanges run different legal entities per region, and this matters more than people think. The license belongs to the entity, and the entity serving you is the one that needs it for your country. Write the name down exactly as spelled.

Step 2: Find the claimed regulator and number

Licensed platforms show their credentials. Regulator name, reference number, usually in the footer or on a Legal page. And if a platform says “fully regulated” without naming any regulator? That sentence just answered your question for you.

Step 3: Search the register yourself

Type the regulator’s address into your browser or find it through a search engine. Do not click a “verify our license” link on the exchange itself, because fake platforms link to fake register pages. Yes, they build entire fake regulator websites. It’s cheaper than you’d think.

On the register, confirm three things: the entity exists, the license covers crypto services specifically, and the status is active. Not lapsed, not suspended, not “in wind-down”.

Where to check, country by country

European Union / EEA

Since MiCA came in, the EU has one license type for crypto platforms: the CASP authorization. It’s granted by a national regulator and valid across the whole EU/EEA, which is why your exchange might be authorized in Ireland while serving you in Spain. Totally normal. ESMA aggregates every national authorization into one searchable register at esma.europa.eu.

One recent change worth knowing: the transition period that let older platforms operate while their applications were pending closed on July 1, 2026. A few weeks ago. An exchange serving EU customers today without CASP authorization isn’t “waiting for approval” anymore. It’s operating outside the law, and I wouldn’t keep a euro on it.

United States

The US makes this annoying because there’s no single crypto license. Federally, exchanges register with FinCEN as a Money Services Business, searchable at fincen.gov/msb-registrant-search. But here’s the nuance scammers exploit: MSB registration is a filing, not an endorsement. Anyone can file. Nobody vets them. The real licensing happens at state level, money transmitter licenses mostly, with New York’s BitLicense from NYDFS being the strictest of the bunch. A serious US exchange lists its state licenses on a dedicated page. Check your own state’s financial regulator if you want to be thorough.

United Kingdom

Crypto firms serving UK customers must be registered with the FCA. Search the entity at register.fca.org.uk. The FCA also keeps a public warning list of firms operating without permission, which is worth checking in the other direction too.

Singapore

The Monetary Authority of Singapore licenses Digital Payment Token providers under the Payment Services Act. Check the Financial Institutions Directory on mas.gov.sg. MAS rejects a lot of applicants, so a full DPT license there is genuinely a strong signal.

Australia

Exchanges register as Digital Currency Exchange providers with AUSTRAC (austrac.gov.au). Like the FinCEN list, this is an AML registration rather than a full license. Necessary, but not sufficient on its own.

Canada

Two layers here: MSB registration with FINTRAC (fintrac-canafe.gc.ca) plus registration with provincial securities regulators coordinated by the CSA. The CSA also publishes lists of banned platforms. Canada actually bans specific exchanges by name, which makes their warning lists unusually useful.

UAE

Dubai’s VARA (vara.ae) publishes its list of licensed Virtual Asset Service Providers, and Abu Dhabi runs a separate regime through ADGM. You’ll see these names a lot, the UAE became a major licensing hub fast.

Everywhere else

Same pattern globally. Find your national financial regulator, find its register of authorized virtual-asset providers, search the entity name. If your country’s regulator has no crypto register at all, sit with what that means: you’d be relying entirely on foreign licenses and the platform’s goodwill.

Four traps that catch careful people

The meaningless license. “Registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines” is not a financial license. It’s incorporation paperwork. If the claimed authority doesn’t actually supervise crypto activity, the claim is decoration, and offshore paperwork dressed up as regulation is probably the most common trick I see.

The wrong entity. This is the one I mentioned at the top. The register shows “XYZ Europe Ltd” is licensed, looks great, except your account agreement is with “XYZ Global Ltd” registered somewhere sunny. Often legal, always worth knowing: the licensed entity isn’t the one holding your money. Read which company your ToS actually names.

The cloned website. Scammers clone real licensed exchanges down to the license numbers, hosted on a lookalike domain. Check the spelling of the domain character by character before the license check even matters.

The dead license. Registers show status. “Lapsed” or “suspended” means the protection existed and doesn’t anymore. This is exactly why you check the live register instead of trusting a screenshot on someone’s About page.

FAQ

Is FinCEN MSB registration the same as being licensed?

No. MSB registration is a mandatory filing that anyone can make, with no vetting involved. Scam platforms cite it constantly because it sounds official. In the US, meaningful licensing lives at the state level, like money transmitter licenses and the NYDFS BitLicense.

What if my exchange isn’t licensed anywhere?

Then you have zero regulatory protection. No fund segregation rules, no complaints process, no supervisor to escalate to. Some people accept that trade knowingly for specific reasons. If you’re not consciously making that trade, move to a licensed platform or into self-custody.

Does a license protect my money if the exchange goes bankrupt?

Partially, at best. Licensing usually requires segregating customer assets, which improves your position in a bankruptcy. But crypto deposits generally aren’t covered by government deposit insurance the way bank accounts are, and recoveries take years. FTX customers waited over two years for their first payouts.

Which country’s license is the strongest signal?

My take: a full MiCA CASP authorization, a MAS DPT license, or an NYDFS BitLicense sit at the strict end. All three involve real capital, custody, and governance requirements. AML-only registrations (FinCEN MSB, AUSTRAC, FINTRAC) sit at the weak end. They vet paperwork, not solvency.

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Regulations move fast and this guide reflects the rules as of its last update. Spotted something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it, per our editorial policy.