# National Commission of Digital Assets (CNAD): register, licences and requirements

Source page: https://protegra.io/licensing/regulators/cnad-el-salvador/

CNAD (Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales) is El Salvador's dedicated digital-asset regulator, created under the 2023 Digital Assets Issuance Law. It authorises and supervises digital asset service providers (PSAD) and issuers of digital assets and stablecoins; a 2026 report put authorised PSAD companies at 64, and CNAD's own register listed 48 digital-asset issuers and 5 stablecoin issuers. Bitcoin-specific service providers register separately with the central bank, BCR.

## How to check a firm on the CNAD register

The PSAD register lists each authorised provider by its registration code (e.g. PSAD-0097) and registration date; the issuers register separates digital-asset issuers (EAD-####) from stablecoin issuers (EME-####) and shows name, registration date, website and contact details. Both are simple browsable lists on the CNAD site, not a name/number search form. [4]

- [Digital Asset Service Providers (PSAD) register](https://cnad.gob.sv/es/registro-publico/proveedores-de-servicio-de-activos-digitales/) [4]
- [Register of digital asset and stablecoin issuers (EAD/EME)](https://cnad.gob.sv/es/issuers/) [8]

## At a glance

| Official name | National Commission of Digital Assets (Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales) |
| --- | --- |
| Jurisdiction | [El Salvador](https://protegra.io/licensing/jurisdictions/el-salvador/) |
| Type | Integrated financial regulator |
| Headquarters | San Salvador [1] |
| Founded | 2023 [2] |
| Website | [cnad.gob.sv](https://cnad.gob.sv/) [3] |
| Public register | [Official public register](https://cnad.gob.sv/es/registro-publico/proveedores-de-servicio-de-activos-digitales/) [4] |
| Licence types in the Atlas | 1 |

## What CNAD supervises

CNAD is El Salvador's dedicated digital-asset regulator: it authorises and supervises digital asset service providers and public/private issuances of digital assets and stablecoins, sets the rules and fees for the sector, and enforces the Digital Assets Issuance Law. Operating without its authorisation is illegal. [1]

- digital asset service providers (custody, exchange, transfer, wallet and related services) [7]
- public and private issuers of tokenised/digital assets [8]
- issuers of stablecoins offered publicly or privately [8]
- certifiers and structurers that support digital asset offerings [9]

## Licences CNAD issues

- [VASP · El SalvadorProveedor de Servicios de Activos Digitales (PSAD) registration](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/vasp/el-salvador/)

## Lesser-known services for applicants

Available

### Pre-application meeting / pre-assessment

CNAD offers a free pre-registration step (an online form) before the formal PSAD application; CNAD reviews it and issues an 'objeción' or 'no objeción' to confirm it has jurisdiction over the applicant's business model before the applicant files complete documentation. [5]

Not published

### Innovation hub

No dedicated 'innovation hub' page or programme was found on cnad.gob.sv; CNAD instead runs case-by-case pre-registration screening and ad hoc sandboxes (see below). [5]

Available · policy

### Regulatory sandbox

CNAD president Juan Carlos Reyes announced (17 April 2026) a regulatory sandbox for banks, run with the Attorney General's Office, the Financial Investigation Unit and the central bank, to let banks test digital-asset use cases under CNAD supervision; CNAD has also discussed a cross-border pilot sandbox with the US SEC capped at $10,000 per pilot. Neither sandbox is created by statute; both are policy initiatives with no published cohort windows. [6]

**Application portal:** Online pre-registration is via a Google Forms link published on cnad.gob.sv/es/como-registrarse/psad/; there is no separate named e-filing portal. [5]

Compare with other regulators: [pre-application meetings](https://protegra.io/licensing/tools/pre-application/) · [sandboxes and innovation hubs](https://protegra.io/licensing/tools/sandboxes/).

## Statistics

_Current licence holders in the official register [4]_

- 64 companies authorised as digital asset service providers by CNAD, per a 2026 Cointelegraph/TradingView report (exact publication date not shown on the article) [10]
- 48 registered digital-asset issuers (EAD) and 5 registered stablecoin issuers (EME) [8]

## Fees and timelines

| Licence | Fee | Amount |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Proveedor de Servicios de Activos Digitales (PSAD) registration](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/vasp/el-salvador/) | application | USD 5,475 [7] |

_Time to a decision for Proveedor de Servicios de Activos Digitales (PSAD) registration: statutory deadline vs observed._

| Licence | Statutory deadline | Observed |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Proveedor de Servicios de Activos Digitales (PSAD) registration](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/vasp/el-salvador/) | 20 business days for CNAD to evaluate a complete PSAD application [7] | not published |

## Changing the owner of a licensed firm

**.**

Buying a company that already holds one of these licences is often faster than applying. See [ready-made licensed companies](https://protegra.io/companies/) · [crypto digital assets](https://protegra.io/companies/crypto-digital-assets/).

## Laws CNAD applies

- [Digital Assets Issuance Law (Legislative Decree No. 643)](https://protegra.io/licensing/laws/sv-digital-assets-issuance-law/): Decreto Legislativo N.º 643

## Recent and upcoming changes

- 2023-06-27: Decreto Legislativo No. 781 reformed the Digital Assets Issuance Law, constituting CNAD as a decentralised public institution with its own budget and giving executive-title status to digital asset certifications and smart contracts (published Diario Oficial No. 132, Tomo 440, 2023-07-17). [2]
- 2026-04-17: CNAD announced it will build a regulatory sandbox for banks, coordinated with the Attorney General's Office, the Financial Investigation Unit and the central bank (BCR). [6]

## Contacts and public register

Address: Calle La Mascota, Edificio 144, San Salvador Centro, San Salvador, El Salvador [1]
Website: [cnad.gob.sv](https://cnad.gob.sv/) [3]

Check whether a firm is licensed: [official register](https://cnad.gob.sv/es/registro-publico/proveedores-de-servicio-de-activos-digitales/) [4] · [official register](https://cnad.gob.sv/es/issuers/) [8].

## Frequently asked questions

### What does CNAD regulate?

CNAD authorises and supervises digital asset service providers (custody, exchange, wallet and transfer services) and issuers of digital assets and stablecoins offered publicly or privately in El Salvador, under the 2023 Digital Assets Issuance Law. Operating without its authorisation is illegal. It does not regulate Bitcoin service providers, who register with the central bank (BCR) instead.

### How many companies has CNAD authorised?

CNAD's own public register showed registration numbers up to PSAD-0097 (at least 42 entries visible) when checked on 2026-09-24; a 2026 press report citing CNAD put the total at 64 authorised digital asset service providers. CNAD's issuers register separately listed 48 digital-asset issuers and 5 stablecoin issuers.

### How much does it cost to register as a digital asset service provider in El Salvador?

CNAD charges an initial registration fee of USD 5,475, payable within 10 business days of a favourable resolution. Pre-registration, the earlier screening step, is free. No recurring annual supervisory fee is published on CNAD's site.

### How long does CNAD take to decide a PSAD application?

By law CNAD has a maximum of 20 business days to evaluate a complete PSAD (digital asset service provider) application, with a further 10 business days for applicants to fix an incomplete filing. CNAD does not publish observed average processing times.

### Does CNAD offer a sandbox or pre-application help?

CNAD runs a free, non-statutory pre-registration screening before the formal PSAD application. In April 2026 it also announced a policy (non-statutory) regulatory sandbox for banks, run with the Attorney General's Office, the Financial Investigation Unit and the central bank, plus talks with the US SEC on a cross-border pilot capped at $10,000 per case.

## Sources

1. [cnad.gob.sv: the commission](https://cnad.gob.sv/the-commission/): retrieved 2026-09-24
2. [jurisprudencia.gob.sv: FA761](https://www.jurisprudencia.gob.sv/DocumentosBoveda/R/2/2020-2029/2023/01/FA761.HTML?embedded=true): retrieved 2026-09-24
3. [cnad.gob.sv](https://cnad.gob.sv/): retrieved 2026-09-24
4. [cnad.gob.sv: proveedores de servicio de activos digitales](https://cnad.gob.sv/es/registro-publico/proveedores-de-servicio-de-activos-digitales/): retrieved 2026-09-24
5. [cnad.gob.sv: psad](https://cnad.gob.sv/es/como-registrarse/psad/): retrieved 2026-09-24
6. [cryptonews.net: 32720990](https://cryptonews.net/es/news/legal/32720990/): retrieved 2026-04-17
7. [cnad.gob.sv: register as digital assets service provider dasp](https://cnad.gob.sv/how-to-register/register-as-digital-assets-service-provider-dasp/): retrieved 2026-09-24
8. [cnad.gob.sv: issuers](https://cnad.gob.sv/es/issuers/): retrieved 2026-09-24
9. [cnad.gob.sv: marco legal](https://cnad.gob.sv/marco-legal/): retrieved 2026-09-24
10. [es.tradingview.com: cointelegraph:b9ddf197e09cd:0](https://es.tradingview.com/news/cointelegraph:b9ddf197e09cd:0/): retrieved 2026-09-24

Last verified 2026-09-24 · Author: Danil Marmysh · Reviewed by Anastasia Sidorenkova · © Protegra. Data: CC BY 4.0, cite "Protegra Licensing Atlas". Not legal advice.