1. [Legal Classification and Business Boundaries] of El Salvador Crypto License
| Statutory license type | Regulatory agency and local name | Business authority and regulatory characterization |
|---|---|---|
| Digital asset service provider (DASP / PSAD) |
National Digital Assets Committee (CNAD) Digital Asset Service Provider |
Covers all digital assets except Bitcoin (such as Ethereum、Stablecoin、Exchange Operations for Tokenized Securities RWA)、Asset Management and Token Issuance。 |
| Bitcoin service provider (BSP / PSB) |
central reserve bank (BCR) Bitcoin Service Provider |
Offers exchange only for fiat currency Bitcoin (BTC)、Payment processing and hot and cold wallet hosting services。 |
| Investment banking license (2025/2026new regulations) |
National Digital Assets Committee (CNAD) | For liquid asset super 25 Sophisticated investors with US$10,000。Allow settlement entirely in digital assets and legal holding of digital assets。Statutory capital requirements are up to 5000 million dollars。 |
2. Industry information：El Salvador DASP / BSP License [Statutory Approval Case]
Comprehensive Crypto Exchange：Binance (Binance)
Binance successfully obtains dual license from El Salvador。Obtain a Bitcoin Service Provider issued by BCR (BSP) License and digital asset service provider issued by CNAD (DASP) license，Provide customized digital asset transactions in accordance with the law。
RWA Tokenization：Bitfinex Securities
2023April，Bitfinex local entity receives El Salvador’s first DASP license。Legally permitted for tokenized issuance and secondary market trading of real-world assets such as stocks and bonds。
Digital wallets and payments：DitoBanx / Name
Local financial technology company DitoBanx holds dual BSP and DASP licenses，Release of digital wallet supporting Mastercard。Mexican platform Bitso serves as the core technology and liquidity provider of the official Bitcoin wallet (Chivo wallet)。
Stablecoin issuer：Tether
Corporate income tax exemption for stablecoins and digital assets under the LEAD Act、Statutory tax policy on capital gains tax，Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, launched 2025 Year 1 Moved its headquarters to El Salvador。
3. [Capital of El Salvador PSAD、Taxation and financial capabilities]
Company capital is not equal to license capital
2,000US dollars and 5% paid-in are the criteria for company establishment when choosing a specific El Salvadoran company form.，Not CNAD’s current PSAD process applies to all natural persons、Unified prudent capital thresholds for local legal persons and non-local applicants。
Digital asset income 0% tax
According to the "Digital Asset Issuance Law"(LEAD) No. 36 strip，Exemption from corporate income tax on crypto businesses (0%)、Capital gains tax (0%)、VAT (0%) and related dividend withholding tax。
Non-digital asset businesses will be subject to separate tax assessments
After CNAD confirms formal registration, it can enjoy the tax benefits stipulated in Article 36 of the "Digital Asset Issuance Law"；The tax treatment of non-digital asset income should be based on the nature of the income、The subject and current tax laws will be determined separately.，It should not be written as a fixed 30%。
Proof of financial adequacy
CNAD will combine application services、Business planning and risk control assess financial capabilities。The required working capital should be determined by the trading volume、Customer asset protection、personnel、system、Audit and AML/CFT cost derivation，The official process does not set a unified recommended amount of US$70,000 to US$100,000.。
4. [Subject of El Salvador PSAD、Governance and Key Function Requirements]
Application subject：CNAD’s current instructions allow natural persons or legal persons to apply，And covered by having a residence in El Salvador，Or applicants who do not have local residence but actively promote their services to potential local customers.。Whether to establish another local company should be judged based on business and tax arrangements.。
Shareholders and managers：If applying as a legal person，Equity should be submitted、Final beneficiary and administrator information and subject to suitability review。Two shareholders and two directors are the configuration of a specific corporate structure，There is not a uniform threshold for all PSAD applicants。
AML/CFT functions：The person in charge of anti-money laundering must be allocated according to the application service and risk、policy、Customer due diligence、Sanctions Screening、Transaction Monitoring and Suspicious Transaction Reporting Process。Specific number of people、place of residence、Educational qualifications and experience should be subject to CNAD case requirements and UIF rules.。
Cybersecurity function：Applicants must explain system security、access control、Key and wallet management、Incident response and business continuity。The availability of a dedicated cybersecurity officer and his/her location of residence depends on the business and CNAD review，The current process does not include a unified local resident threshold。
5. [Comparison of DASP and BSP statutory review files submitted to regulatory agencies]
| File category | DASP license (Submit to CNAD，strict censorship) | BSP license (Submit to BCR，Focus on the basics) |
|---|---|---|
| Financial and Business Planning | Force commit future 3 annual detailed business plan。past 3 Annual audited financial statements (new company provides capital injection certificate)。 | No long-term business plan or audited financial statements required。Simply describe your services and target market in a digital form。 |
| Compliance and internal control mechanisms | UIF-compliant International Monetary Fund (IMF)：AML/CFT Policy Manual、KYC/KYB Policy、Ethics and Conflict Management Procedures。Shareholding exceeds 10% In-depth due diligence for shareholders。 | Regular business registration documents。Proof of identity of legal representative、power of attorney。Basic AML/KYC Policy Statement。 |
| Technology and Cybersecurity | Detailed network security protocols (clear hot and cold wallet management、Multi-signature mechanism) and disaster recovery strategy。 | Simply fill in the application form with a general technical description of the technology，No need to submit the underlying technical manual。 |
6. [Statutory Application and CNAD Approval Process] for DASP License in El Salvador
first stage：Pre-registration and preliminary review (Pre-registration)
Submit pre-registration form to CNAD、3 Annual business plan summary and financial evidence。CNAD will issue a “no objection” after evaluation. (No Objection)"letter。
second stage：Local legal person entity formation and account opening
Complete the company according to the applicant and business arrangements、Tax and operational preparation；If you choose El Salvador company，Establishment and capital procedures should be completed separately in accordance with company law。
The third stage：Formal registration application (Final Registration)
Submit formal application package (including compliance manual) to CNAD、AML/CTF Policy、All substantive review documents such as network security protocols)。
Stage 4：CNAD evaluation and decision (up to 20 working days)
CNAD evaluates and makes a favorable or unfavorable decision within a maximum of 20 working days；When the application is incomplete，Applicants may be required to submit missing information within 10 working days。The official page does not describe the supplement as a one-time opportunity.。
The fifth stage：Pay the fees、Register and notify UIF
After a favorable decision is delivered，Applicants must pay an initial registration fee of US$5,475 within 10 days。CNAD then issues a registration and operating certificate，and notify the Financial Investigation Unit (UIF)。
7. [Official Fees and Cost Reconciliation] for El Salvador PSAD
| project | Current verification results |
|---|---|
| CNAD initial registration fee | CNAD’s current PSAD process is listed 5,475Dollar，Pay within 10 days after notification of favorable decision。 |
| Annual regulatory or renewal fees | The current PSAD enrollment process page does not list a flat annual amount of $3,650 to $4,050；Please check the current fee schedule and payment notice with CNAD before submission.。 |
| Preparatory and ongoing operating costs | main body、personnel、AML/CFT、network security、Banking and audit costs depend on the scope of practice，Not a unified legal amount，Official budgets should not be written based on market quotations。 |
8. Hong Kong Huitong's legal agency service for El Salvador DASP/BSP license case
Corporate establishment and compliance officer matching
Handle according to business needsEl Salvador Company Registration，And assist the applicant to configure AML/CFT functions and operational arrangements according to the actual requirements of CNAD and UIF。
Core legal documents and network security regulations
Compose contains 3 Annual financial forecast business plan。Preparation of FATF compliant AML/CFT policy manual、Hot and cold wallet management and multi-signature network security protocol。
CNAD application and bank account opening agent
Assistance in preparing certification documents、CNAD pre-registration and formal registration information，And compile and submit supplementary explanations of regulatory requirements within the 10 working day supplement period.。
9. El Salvador Cryptocurrency License Core Legal Questions and Answers (FAQ)
According to the "Digital Asset Issuance Law"(LEAD) No. 36 strip，Digital asset trading by licensed institutions、Enjoy custody and issuance income 0% corporate income tax、0% capital gains tax、0% Value-added tax and exemption from dividend withholding tax。Pure legal currency service income still needs to be paid 30% corporate income tax。
BSP license is limited to offering fiat currency Bitcoin (BTC) exchange and custody services。The DASP license covers all digital assets except Bitcoin (such as Ethereum、Stablecoin、Exchange operations and token issuance (tokenized securities)。
2,000US dollars and 5% paid-in are the criteria for company establishment when choosing a specific El Salvadoran company form.，Not a unified license capital for CNAD for all PSAD applicants。Financial capability should be demonstrated by specific services and operating costs。
CNAD’s current instructions allow natural persons or legal persons to apply，Also covers applicants who are not established in El Salvador but actively market their services to potential local clients.。Do you need local entities?、Office and personnel，Should be determined based on application services and CNAD case requirements。
If applying as a legal person，shareholder、Ultimate beneficiaries and administrators subject to review；The exact number depends on the chosen corporate form and governance arrangements，Two shareholders cannot be、Two directors write unified requirements for all PSADs。
Applicants must establish an AML/CFT function commensurate with business risks，And comply with the applicable requirements of CNAD and UIF。Specific number of people、place of residence、Educational qualifications and experience should be subject to regulatory requirements at the formal application stage。
Must submit future 3 year business plan、past 3 Annual audited financial statements、Network security protocol (including hot and cold wallet management and multi-signature)、AML/CFT Policy Manual and Customer Due Diligence (KYC) policy。
CNAD will evaluate it within a maximum of 20 working days after receiving the formal application.。When the application is incomplete，The replacement period is 10 working days；The preparation time of the enterprise depends on the business、Body and materials，Three to six months should not be written as a statutory guarantee。
CNAD’s current PSAD process lists the initial registration fee as $5,475，and require payment within 10 days after notification of the favorable decision.。The annual fee should be based on the current fee schedule or CNAD payment notice.。
Renewal fees must be paid in the first quarter of each year。Daily operations are subject to "Travel Rules"(Travel Rule) Verify customer identity，Report suspicious transactions to UIF，and mandatory external annual financial audits and cybersecurity audits。
When the application is incomplete，CNAD may require additional information to be submitted within 10 working days.；The official process does not say that there is only one chance to make a replacement.。If an adverse decision is made，Applicants can resubmit their registration application。
El Salvador’s traditional banks are extremely strict about opening accounts in the crypto industry。Professional organizations such as Hong Kong Huitong can provide alternatives，Assist in legally opening separate multi-currency corporate capital verification accounts at local banks or European EMI institutions。
10. Risk boundaries for crypto businesses in El Salvador
Digital asset services activities in El Salvador may involve different registrations、Licensing and anti-money laundering obligations。Obtain registration or approval for a certain category，It does not mean that you can engage in all transactions、hosting、exchange、issuance or payment activity。
Before applying, please refer to the current announcement of the competent authority、Application form and registration book shall prevail，And check the customer area、Token type、Wallet and custody arrangements、Marketing and reporting responsibilities；Don’t treat industry cases as universal access rules。
11. Relevant regulations、Regulatory information and further reading
| Data category | Related information |
|---|---|
| Legislation and regulatory guidance | |
| Licensing and regulatory authorities |
