Digital Assets Issuance Law (Legislative Decree No. 643)
The Ley de Emisión de Activos Digitales (Decreto Legislativo No. 643, in force since 1 February 2023) is El Salvador's digital-asset statute. It sets up the Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales (CNAD), which registers Digital Asset Service Providers (PSAD), certifying entities and issuers, and clears public offerings of digital assets, stablecoins included.
At a glance
| Official title | Ley de Emisión de Activos Digitales (Decreto Legislativo N.º 643)1 |
|---|---|
| English title | Digital Assets Issuance Law (Legislative Decree No. 643) |
| Citation | Decreto Legislativo N.º 643 |
| Jurisdiction | El Salvador |
| Type | act |
| Adopted | 2023-01-11 |
| In force from | 2023-02-01 |
| Status | in force |
Full text
Official full text: Digital Assets Issuance Law (Legislative Decree No. 643) (PDF, es)1 · 608 KB · file checked 2026-10-26 · consolidated version of 2023-07-17
Official page: cnad.gob.sv1 · archived copy
Summary
Decreto Legislativo No. 643 (Ley de Emisión de Activos Digitales) passed the Legislative Assembly on 11 January 2023 and is El Salvador's framework for public offerings of digital assets and for digital-asset service providers. It creates the Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales (CNAD) as regulator, and separately the Bitcoin Fund Management Agency (AAB). A digital asset is defined as a DLT-based digital representation, carved out from securities law by name. Providers of digital-asset services (exchange, platform operation, custody, transfer, order execution and investment-product administration) must register in the PSAD Registry before offering services, and CNAD has 20 business days to decide. Registration costs 15 minimum wages up front, with a 10 minimum wage annual renewal. Issuers need CNAD authorisation, called a 'habilitación', before a public offering, and must file a Documento de Información Relevante; stablecoin issuers also report projected issuance volumes. Independent certifying entities check issuer and provider compliance. Violations draw fines from 114 up to 1,200 minimum wages, or up to 1% of an offering's value. Providers already active got a six-month provisional registration window.
Summary written by the Atlas from the official text; the law itself prevails.
Main articles
- Art. 1: The law's own purpose clause: legal certainty for public offerings of digital assets, and rules for issuers, providers and participants.
- Art. 3: A 'digital asset' is a DLT-based digital representation, capable of being owned and transferred, and expressly not a security.
- Art. 6: Creates CNAD, the Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales, as the digital-asset regulator.
- Art. 12: Registration costs 15 minimum wages up front for providers and certifiers, then 10 minimum wages a year to renew.
- Art. 18: Creates the PSAD Registry. Offer digital-asset services in El Salvador without being on it, and the offer is unlawful.
- Art. 19: The licensable list: exchange, platform operation, custody, transfer, order execution, and investment-product administration.
- Art. 20: Once an application is complete, CNAD has 20 business days to approve or reject it.
- Art. 22-23: No public offering of digital assets or stablecoins launches without CNAD's authorisation first.
- Art. 27: A certifying entity registers with CNAD before it can verify anyone's compliance.
- Art. 38: Fines run from 114 to 1,200 minimum wages, or up to 1% of the offering's value, whichever the violation calls for.
- Art. 44: Providers already in business get a six-month window to register provisionally once the law takes effect.
- Art. 47: Entry into force: eight days after the Decree is published in the Diario Oficial.
Licences it governs
Regulators that apply it
Sources
- Digital Assets Issuance Law (Legislative Decree No. 643) · retrieved 2026-10-26
Does this law apply to your business?
Send us a short description of what you do. We tell you which obligations and licences follow from it, and what it takes to comply.
A free preliminary assessment: we check your business model against the licence before you spend on an application. We handle this licence and any other fintech licence, including jurisdictions the Atlas does not cover yet.