Anjouan has become one of the practical offshore options for crypto businesses that need a working authorization without the cost and timeline of a MiCA or U.S. process. It suits exchanges, brokers and digital-asset platforms serving markets outside the EU and U.S., where a lighter-touch regime and speed to operation matter.
The license is only as good as the structure around it. An offshore VASP is routinely rejected by banks and payment providers when it arrives as a bare certificate with no substance — so the value of doing this properly lies in the entity design, the compliance programme and the banking strategy that sit behind the authorization.
We handle the full pathway: entity formation, application, compliance build, and — critically — the banking and payment connectivity that decides whether the business can actually transact.
Speed, without the shell
The point of an offshore license is to operate. We build the substance — governance, compliance, records — that makes it bankable.
Banking from day one
We plan the banking and payment stack alongside the application, because an unbankable license is no license at all.
A stepping stone, not a ceiling
For many clients Anjouan is the first jurisdiction, designed so that a later MiCA or other regulated entity can be layered on without rebuilding.
Indicative requirements. Every regime is applied with judgement — we confirm exactly what your file needs during the feasibility phase.
- Anjouan-incorporated company with registered office and agent
- Directors and beneficial owners passing fit-and-proper review
- Business plan covering products, target markets and revenue
- AML/CFT and KYC programme with transaction monitoring
- Custody, wallet and client-asset handling arrangements
- Evidence of operating capital
- Terms of service, risk disclosures and complaints handling
- 01
Feasibility & fit
We confirm Anjouan is the right regime for your markets — and say so plainly if a different jurisdiction serves you better.
- 02
Entity & corporate setup
Company formation, registered office and agent, director and shareholder structuring.
- 03
Application preparation
Business plan, AML/CFT programme, policies and the full supporting pack required by the registry.
- 04
Filing & determination
Submission, query handling and coordination through to issuance of the license.
- 05
Banking & go-live
Payment and banking introductions, custody arrangements, compliance staffing and operational launch support.
It is a genuine authorization within its jurisdiction and is used widely by offshore-facing platforms. Its acceptance depends on your counterparty: some banks, processors and exchanges will onboard it readily; others will not. We are candid about that upfront and build the banking strategy around reality, not the certificate.
No — not lawfully. An Anjouan authorization does not permit marketing into the EU or U.S., and doing so creates real exposure. If those markets matter, you need a MiCA or U.S. presence; we frequently design the offshore entity as a complement to exactly that.
Timelines depend on the file and on banking. Licensing can move quickly; banking onboarding is usually the longer pole and is why we start it early rather than after approval.
The regime is offshore-friendly, but we still advise on substance appropriate to your scale — enough governance and record-keeping to satisfy both the registry and any bank that reviews the entity.