DASP Licence · El Salvador

El Salvador DASP Licence
A Digital-Asset Framework Built for the Business

In many jurisdictions, crypto businesses have to force a digital-asset model into a regulatory framework designed for traditional financial services.

El Salvador takes a different approach. Its Digital Assets Law creates a dedicated route for businesses that exchange, custody, transfer, broker, operate platforms for, or otherwise provide services connected to qualifying digital assets.

The challenge is not meeting a headline capital figure. It is showing CNAD that the company can actually provide the services it proposes—with the right operating capability, governance, client support, custody safeguards, cybersecurity, and financial-crime controls.

Calculate your El Salvador setup cost Schedule a free call
WHY TEAMS CHOOSE PROTEGRA

Built for Crypto — Not Adapted to It

A DASP application is not won by describing a digital-asset business in traditional financial-services language. CNAD needs to understand the services you actually provide: how assets are issued, exchanged, transferred, held, promoted, listed, or administered; how customers are supported; how technology is secured; and how AML/CFT controls work in practice.

100% crypto-focused.

The model comes first, before the application tells the wrong story.

Start your application

The model comes first

before the application tells the wrong story. We map the product, the transaction flow, custody model, client journey, governance, technology, and regulatory scope before the CNAD application is drafted.

We classify the service around the real activity

A business may describe itself as an exchange, wallet, token platform, broker, marketplace, or advisory business. CNAD assesses the actual service provided. We define the route around what the platform really does: exchange, custody, transfer, brokerage, trading-platform operation, advisory, token structuring, issuance support, or other qualifying digital-asset activity.

We build the operating capability behind the file

The application must show that the company can provide the service it proposes. We connect governance, customer support, AML/CFT, transaction monitoring, custody safeguards, cybersecurity, financial resources, outsourcing, and business continuity to one workable operating model.

We prepare the evidence CNAD will inspect

A credible DASP project requires more than corporate documents and a business plan. It needs evidence that the service can operate securely and responsibly. We prepare the policies, controls, operating procedures, cybersecurity documentation, financial information, key-person records, and supporting materials needed to make the file consistent.

Written for crypto.
Not adapted to it.

CNAD DIGITAL-ASSET FRAMEWORK

What Is the El Salvador DASP Licence, and Who Regulates It?

USD 5,475
Initial registration fee

USD 5,475 (€4,730), payable after a favourable CNAD resolution and before the registration certificate is issued

20 business days
Formal review

CNAD states that it has up to 20 business days to assess a complete definitive-registration application; requests for additional information can affect the overall timeline

Quarterly
Ongoing reporting

CNAD publishes quarterly reporting requirements for registered Digital Asset Service Providers

Regulatory authority
National Commission of Digital Assets (CNAD)
Legal framework
Digital Assets Law and related CNAD regulations
Primary route
Registration as a Digital Asset Service Provider for qualifying services under the Digital Assets Law
Eligible activity
Services connected to qualifying digital assets, including exchange, custody, transfer, brokerage, platform operation, advisory, structuring, and other activities within the statutory framework
Pre-registration
CNAD provides a preliminary review process to assess initial documents and information before definitive registration
Initial registration fee
USD 5,475 (€4,730), payable after a favourable CNAD resolution and before the registration certificate is issued
WHY EL SALVADOR

Built for Digital-Asset Activity—Not Retrofitted Around It

El Salvador's advantage is not that it eliminates compliance. It is that the country has created a dedicated legal framework for digital assets instead of applying a general financial-services regime to every crypto business by default. For the right model, that creates a more direct regulatory conversation: CNAD assesses the digital-asset services you intend to provide and the capability you have built to provide them.

Framework

A dedicated regulator for digital assets
  • CNAD is specifically responsible for the regulation and supervision of the digital-assets ecosystem.
  • The Digital Assets Law creates a dedicated framework for issuers, certifiers, service providers, and public offerings connected to qualifying digital assets.
  • The route is built around the actual digital-asset activity rather than forcing every business into a conventional payments, banking, or securities licence by default.
  • Pre-registration creates an opportunity to submit initial information for review before definitive registration.

Tax treatment

A statutory tax framework for qualifying activity
  • The Digital Assets Law provides tax exemptions for qualifying digital-asset activity within its statutory scope.
  • This framework may cover income-tax, VAT-type, municipal-tax, and certain other tax treatments connected to qualifying digital-asset activity.
  • The tax outcome depends on the legal structure, activity, revenue stream, relationship to the registered DASP scope, and the company's specific facts.
  • Revenue outside the qualifying digital-assets regime should not be assumed to receive the same treatment.

Market position

An Americas-facing digital-assets base
  • El Salvador has positioned itself as a jurisdiction for Bitcoin, tokenisation, digital-assets infrastructure, and technology-led financial services.
  • A DASP route can be relevant for international teams looking for a dedicated digital-assets framework outside the EU's MiCA regime.
  • The jurisdiction does not provide an EU passport or a regional licence for Latin America. Expansion into other markets requires separate legal analysis.
  • The commercial value lies in establishing a credible digital-assets operating base—not assuming that one registration opens every market.
Start your application

San Salvador.
Your LatAm base.

CHOOSE YOUR DIGITAL-ASSET ROUTE

Which El Salvador Crypto Licence Route Fits: Bitcoin Service Provider, DASP, or Issuer?

El Salvador does not apply one blanket "crypto licence" to every activity. The appropriate route depends on whether the business is focused only on Bitcoin-related services, provides services connected to other qualifying digital assets, or plans to issue, promote, list, or structure its own digital assets for public offering or trading. Choosing the wrong scope can create unnecessary disclosure work—or leave the company registered for a service model that does not cover what it plans to launch.

For qualifying Bitcoin-related activityBitcoin-focused services

Bitcoin Service Provider

A Bitcoin Service Provider route may be relevant where the business is limited to services connected to Bitcoin, such as exchange, custody, payment processing, or related activity under the applicable Bitcoin framework.

This route should be assessed carefully if the business plans to add tokens, stablecoins, tokenised assets, advisory services, or multi-asset functionality later.

May suit

  • Bitcoin-focused exchange services
  • Bitcoin payment-processing models
  • Bitcoin custody or wallet services
  • Businesses with no current multi-asset or token-issuance plans

May not cover

  • Services involving digital assets beyond Bitcoin
  • Token issuance or public-offering activity
  • Multi-asset exchange or custody
  • Advisory or brokerage connected to non-Bitcoin digital assets
Calculate cost ⟶Apply ⟶
For exchange, custody, transfer, platforms, brokerage, and advisoryMulti-asset digital-asset services

Digital Asset Service Provider

A DASP registration may be appropriate for a business providing one or more digital-asset services under El Salvador's Digital Assets Law.

Depending on the model, this can include exchange, custody, transfer, brokerage, trading-platform operation, advisory, structuring, administration, or other qualifying services related to digital assets.

May suit

  • Multi-asset exchange and brokerage
  • Custody and administration of digital assets
  • Transfer and settlement services
  • Digital-asset trading platforms
  • Digital-asset advisory or investment-product services
  • Businesses supporting tokenised assets or broader Web3 models

Requires

  • A business model that matches the proposed service scope
  • Appropriate governance and operating capability
  • AML/CFT and client-risk controls
  • Cybersecurity, custody, and technology arrangements proportionate to the service
  • Financial and non-financial resources appropriate to the model
Calculate cost ⟶Apply ⟶
For businesses issuing, promoting, marketing, or admitting digital assetsEnhanced disclosure and issuer requirements

DASP With Issuance or Listing Activity

A DASP registration does not automatically cover the separate obligations that may apply when a business issues, markets, promotes, structures, or seeks to admit a digital asset for public offering or trading.

This route is relevant where the company is not only providing a service around third-party assets but is also connected to the asset's issuance, public offering, listing, or distribution.

May involve

  • Digital-asset issuer registration
  • Public-offering or listing documentation
  • Asset-specific disclosures
  • Documentation of benefits, restrictions, risks, rights, and limits
  • Additional CNAD review of the proposed asset and offering structure
Calculate cost ⟶Apply ⟶
COST CALCULATOR

How Much Does a DASP Licence in El Salvador Cost?

There is no universal headline capital amount that applies to every DASP model. CNAD assesses whether the company has resources appropriate to the services it intends to provide. The real investment depends on your service scope, operating model, local entity or branch structure, governance, AML/CFT programme, cybersecurity arrangements, audit requirements, and ongoing reporting obligations.

Three levels of support

How much of the work do you want us to do?

01 · TEMPLATES

You get the documents. You file them yourself.

USD 10,000
  • The full policy, procedure and governance pack for this regulator
  • Application forms filled in as far as your own data allows
  • One handover session so you know what goes where
  • You deal with the regulator yourself
02 · TAILORED

We write the file around your business.

USD 38,000
USD 20,000 registration work + USD 18,000 AML/CFT programme, each on its own line below
  • Everything above, rewritten around your actual model
  • Business plan, governance and AML/CFT built from your data
  • We assemble and check the whole file before it goes in
  • You submit and answer; we stay on call throughout
Every figure on this page assumes this level
03 · TO DECISION

We carry the file to the regulator’s answer.

USD 76,000
  • Everything above, and we file it
  • Every regulator question and clarification round comes to us
  • Meetings and pre-application engagement handled for you
  • We stay on the file until the decision is issued

One licence, three levels — the regulator asks for exactly the same file in all three, and what changes is how much of it sits with you. The middle level is the default here: every price on this page is quoted at it, and the selector above the total switches between them. Moving up or down changes our fee and nothing else — not the capital, not the state fees, not the statutory clock. Carrying a file to the decision is not a promise of approval: no adviser can give one, and an adviser who does is selling you something other than advice.

Protegra legal and CNAD registration supportService classification, pre-registration, application design, documentation, regulator communication, and clarification management.USD 20,000
Salvadoran entity or branch setupCorporate structure, registrations, shareholder documentation, local registered-office arrangements, and supporting corporate work.USD 4,500
CNAD initial registration feeThe statutory registration payment due after CNAD issues a favourable resolution. Approximately €4,730.USD 5,475
Financial-resources and operating-capability assessmentThere is no universal fixed DASP capital threshold. The resources, staffing, systems, arrangements, and supporting evidence required to demonstrate that the business can provide the proposed services.Model-specific
AML/CFT and compliance programmeFinancial-crime policies, risk assessment, client onboarding, KYC, sanctions controls, monitoring, escalation, reporting, and training. One-off build; ongoing support from USD 2,500 per month once live.USD 18,000
Custody and client-asset safeguardsControls relevant to wallet architecture, asset protection, segregation, key management, client disclosures, and operational risk. Not applicable to a purely non-custodial model.USD 7,500
Accounting and quarterly reportingBookkeeping, financial statements, CNAD quarterly requirements, tax support, and ongoing operational reporting.USD 4,800 / yr
Fixed regulatory charge — paid directly to CNAD.
CNAD registration feeUSD 5,475, due on a favourable resolution
No statutory capital minimumfinancial resources are scoped to the service model
ROADMAP WITH PROTEGRA

How Long Does an El Salvador DASP Licence Take, Week by Week?

A DASP project is not sequenced around a capital deposit. It is sequenced around service scope and operating evidence: what you will do, how you will do it, who is accountable, how clients and assets are protected, and how CNAD can verify the model.

We map the proposed activity and determine the most appropriate route:

  • Bitcoin-focused services versus multi-asset activity
  • Exchange, custody, transfer, brokerage, platform operation, advisory, or other DASP services
  • Token issuance, promotion, listing, or public-offering exposure
  • Client type, target markets, transaction flows, and product features
  • Custody, wallet, key-management, and client-asset safeguards
  • Corporate, governance, tax, and operating considerations
  • The objective is to ensure that the planned registration covers the business you actually intend to launch

Pre-registration is a formal stage with its own outcome, not a courtesy. You file the pre-registration form covering the applicant and the area you intend to operate in; the CNAD analyses it and may call for more information; it then runs a second evaluation.

The answer is either a reasoned no objection — which comes with the requirements and the process for registration in the area you asked for — or an objection, grounded in a lack of territorial or material competence under Articles 2 and 4 of the LEAD. Definitive registration does not open until that answer is favourable, so this is where the route is really decided.

We establish the appropriate legal and operating structure for the proposed route.

This includes:

Corporate formation or branch structuring, where applicable.

Ownership and beneficial-ownership documentation.

Board and management responsibilities.

Compliance and financial-crime accountability.

Customer-support arrangements.

Business-continuity and incident-management ownership.

Financial and non-financial resource planning.

Evidence that the company can support the proposed activity.

We develop the control environment needed to support the business model:

  • AML/CFT and KYC policies
  • Customer-risk assessment
  • Sanctions and transaction-monitoring controls
  • Suspicious-activity escalation and reporting readiness
  • Cybersecurity governance
  • Access management and system controls
  • Incident-response and business-continuity procedures
  • Outsourcing and vendor-risk controls
  • Custody, wallet, key-management, and client-asset safeguards where relevant

We prepare and submit the definitive registration application with the corporate, operating, governance, compliance, cybersecurity, financial, and service-scope documentation required for CNAD review.

The objective is a single coherent file: the business plan, product, services, governance, safeguards, financial resources, and controls must all describe the same operating model.

We manage CNAD questions, supporting evidence, document updates, and clarification requests.

The CNAD has a maximum of 20 business days to evaluate the file and issue a favourable or unfavourable resolution — or to notify you that the application is incomplete, in which case you have 10 business days to supply what is missing. An unfavourable resolution is not the end of the road: the applicant may file the registration request again. The total project timeline depends on the quality of the file, the readiness of the operating model, requests for additional information, and the complexity of the services proposed.

The fee falls due only after you have won: US$5,475 payable within 10 days of being notified of a favourable resolution. The CNAD then issues the registration certificate and the authorisation to operate, the tax benefits under Article 36 of the LEAD run from notification of the definitive registration number, and the Commission notifies the Financial Investigation Unit that a new provider has been registered. From that point the business operates within the authorised service scope.

08

Post-Licensing Support

INCLUDED, NOT OPTIONAL

DASP registration is the beginning of ongoing compliance. The company must operate the model that CNAD approved and maintain the controls, reports, safeguards, and governance behind it.

AML/CFT monitoring and policy maintenance

Ongoing customer-risk review, transaction monitoring, sanctions controls, escalation support, training, and updates as the business model evolves.

CNAD quarterly reporting

Support for the quarterly reporting requirements applicable to registered Digital Asset Service Providers, including data collection, evidence management, internal review, and submission readiness.

Cybersecurity and operational-resilience support

Maintenance of cybersecurity governance, incident-response procedures, access controls, vendor oversight, and control updates as the technology environment changes.

Governance, disclosure, and regulatory-change management

Support for material changes in services, key people, product functionality, custody arrangements, disclosures, outsourcing, client risk, and applicable CNAD or UIF obligations.

Begin Step 1Schedule a free call
WHY PROTEGRA

Where Do El Salvador DASP Applications Actually Stall?

A dedicated digital-assets law does not remove the need to prove that the business can operate. The most costly problems appear when the service scope, corporate structure, cybersecurity evidence, customer safeguards, and compliance programme are developed separately.

See how we work

"Do we need a BSP, DASP, or an issuer route?"

The wrong classification creates the wrong project. A Bitcoin-focused model, multi-asset platform, custody provider, broker, advisory business, token issuer, and listing platform can each sit in a different part of the Salvadoran framework.

⟶ We map the actual service before the company commits to the wrong application scope.

"Can we prove that the company can actually deliver the service?"

CNAD does not assess a business idea alone. It assesses whether the applicant can provide the services it proposes. A credible file needs organisational capability, key responsibilities, customer support, technology controls, financial resources, governance, and operating procedures that match the product.

⟶ We build the evidence behind the claim.

"Does our cybersecurity documentation match the platform?"

Generic cybersecurity policies do not explain how the company protects digital assets, customer information, access credentials, wallets, keys, integrations, and technology providers.

⟶ We connect cybersecurity governance and operational controls to the architecture that the business actually uses.

"Is our AML programme built for digital assets?"

A traditional AML policy is not enough if it does not reflect blockchain transactions, wallet risk, customer onboarding, sanctions exposure, source-of-funds risk, transaction monitoring, and digital-asset transfers.

⟶ We build the financial-crime programme around the service and transaction flow.

"Are we ready for ongoing CNAD reporting?"

Quarterly reporting, governance maintenance, financial information, customer safeguards, compliance evidence, and operational updates cannot be treated as an afterthought.

⟶ We design the data, ownership, calendar, and reporting process before the company goes live.

"Will the tax treatment apply to our actual revenue?"

The Digital Assets Law provides an attractive statutory tax framework for qualifying activity, but not every revenue stream should be assumed to receive the same treatment.

⟶ We ensure that the commercial model, company structure, licensed activity, revenue mapping, and tax analysis are considered together.
CLIENT EXPERIENCE

How These Problems Get Resolved

Select a challenge to see how a digital-asset project moves from an ambitious crypto model to an operating structure ready for CNAD registration.

Before Protegra
“We knew we wanted an El Salvador route, but we were not sure whether our model belonged under Bitcoin services, a DASP registration, or a separate issuer and disclosure process.”
With Protegra
“The product was mapped before the application started. We knew what services the company would provide, which route applied, and what would be required if we expanded the model later.”
FFounder, digital-asset platform, El Salvador
Talk to a digital-assets licensing expertSchedule a free call
FAQ

El Salvador DASP Licence Questions, Answered Clearly

Route and scope
01Do we need a BSP or DASP route?
The answer depends on the assets and services involved. A Bitcoin-focused model may be assessed under the Bitcoin-related framework. A business exchanging, custodying, transferring, brokering, operating platforms for, advising on, or otherwise providing services connected to qualifying digital assets may require a DASP registration. Multi-asset functionality, tokenised assets, stablecoins, issuance, listing, or advisory activity should be analysed before selecting a route.
02Does a DASP registration cover token issuance or public offerings?
Not automatically. A business that issues, promotes, structures, markets, lists, or seeks to admit a digital asset for public offering or trading may face additional issuer, disclosure, and CNAD-review requirements beyond a standard DASP registration.
03Do founders need to live in El Salvador?
Not necessarily. The required corporate, operating, compliance, and local-presence structure depends on the chosen registration route and the business model. Founders, shareholders, directors, compliance personnel, and service providers should be assessed separately against CNAD, UIF, corporate, immigration, tax, and operational requirements.
04Does an El Salvador DASP licence provide regional or EU passporting?
No. A CNAD registration authorises activity within El Salvador's digital-assets framework. It does not create a MiCA passport for the EU or a regional passport for Latin America. Other jurisdictions must be analysed separately before services are offered there.
Capital, cost, and tax
05Is there a fixed minimum capital requirement for a DASP?
Do not assume that a universal fixed share-capital amount applies to every DASP application. CNAD's current registration information focuses on the applicant's ability to provide its proposed services and the need to demonstrate appropriate financial and non-financial resources. The financial-resources expectation should be assessed against the specific service model before capital is committed.
06What are the initial CNAD registration costs?
CNAD's published process states that, following a favourable resolution, the applicant must pay an initial registration fee of USD 5,475 (€4,730) within the required period before receiving the registration certificate. The total Year 1 cost also includes entity work, legal support, AML/CFT programme development, cybersecurity controls, operating capability, reporting, and ongoing compliance.
07Does El Salvador's tax treatment apply to all company revenue?
No blanket assumption should be made. The Digital Assets Law provides statutory tax exemptions for qualifying digital-asset activity within its scope. The result depends on the company's actual services, legal structure, registered activity, revenue streams, tax position, and supporting tax advice.
Timeline and life after registration
08How long does a DASP registration take?
CNAD states that it has up to 20 business days to assess a complete definitive-registration application. The overall project is longer because it includes service classification, pre-registration, company and governance setup, AML/CFT controls, cybersecurity documentation, operating-capability evidence, application preparation, and any clarification cycles.
09What happens after CNAD registration?
The company begins ongoing regulated operations. This can include AML/CFT controls, cybersecurity maintenance, customer safeguards, governance updates, financial and operational records, applicable UIF-related obligations, and CNAD quarterly reporting.
10Can Protegra support us after registration?
Yes. Ongoing support can include AML/CFT monitoring, policy maintenance, CNAD quarterly-reporting readiness, cybersecurity and governance updates, product-change analysis, regulatory communication, and expansion planning.
Get a personalised El Salvador planBook a call

Reference: Virtual asset service provider (non-MiCA) licences compared in the Licensing Atlas.

Written by Andrei Ignatov ·
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