Which jurisdictions does this compare?

Five major crypto regimes: the EU under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), the UK under the FCA and money-laundering regulations, the US under state money-transmitter rules plus SEC and CFTC oversight, Singapore under the MAS Payment Services Act, and the UAE under VARA in Dubai.

What does conditional mean here?

Conditional means the licensing outcome depends on how your service is structured. Staking, lending, NFTs, and DeFi often sit at the perimeter, so whether you need authorisation turns on details like custody arrangements, profit-sharing, decentralisation, and whether the assets are treated as securities.

Why is the US column the most fragmented?

Because the US regulates crypto through overlapping state and federal regimes. You typically need state money-transmitter licences (and the BitLicense in New York) plus FinCEN registration, and the SEC or CFTC may assert jurisdiction if the asset is a security or a derivative.

Does MiCA cover NFTs and DeFi?

Largely not for genuinely unique NFTs or fully decentralised protocols, but the edges matter. Fractionalised or fungible NFT series can be in scope, and front-ends or identifiable operators of DeFi protocols can be caught. Both areas are under active review across jurisdictions.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is an educational map of publicly stated regimes and how they are generally understood. Licensing perimeters change quickly and turn on precise facts, so confirm with the relevant regulators and qualified local counsel before launching any service.

Crypto Licence Jurisdiction Checker

Crypto-asset businesses face a different licensing answer in every market, and the same product can be regulated, conditionally regulated, or out of scope depending on the jurisdiction. This checker takes one service type and compares the licence position across the EU, UK, US, Singapore, and UAE so you can see where authorisation is needed.

How it works

For each service the tool stores a per-jurisdiction cell with a requirement flag and a short explanation. The flags are normalised across all five regimes:

required     → a specific licence/registration is generally needed
conditional  → depends on structure (custody, securities status, decentralisation)
limited      → often outside the core regime (e.g. unique NFTs, pure protocols)

The grid then renders the five jurisdictions for the chosen service so you can compare them at a glance.

Notes and example

A crypto exchange is the clearest case: it needs authorisation in every jurisdiction — CASP under MiCA, FCA registration in the UK, state money-transmitter plus federal oversight in the US, an MAS Payment Services Act licence in Singapore, and a VARA exchange licence in Dubai. A staking service, by contrast, is conditional almost everywhere and carries notably high enforcement risk in the US, where staking-as-a- service has been treated as an unregistered securities offering. These perimeters move fast and depend on exact facts, so treat the grid as a starting map and confirm with local regulators and counsel. All processing stays in your browser.