Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP)

DASP stands for Digital Asset Service Provider. It is the term some regulators use for a business that provides digital asset services to customers, such as custody, exchanging digital assets for fiat or other digital assets, trading, transfers, or running a trading platform. The FATF and most countries call these businesses virtual asset service providers (VASPs), and the EU calls them crypto-asset service providers (CASPs).

Where is the term DASP used?

• France. Under the 2019 PACTE law, the AMF registered DASPs (PSAN in French) and offered an optional license. Since the EU's MiCA regulation, that regime has been replaced: France's transitional period ended on 1 July 2026, and crypto-asset services in France now need MiCA authorization as a CASP (or, for some financial institutions, a MiCA notification). See Travel Rule requirements in France.
• El Salvador. Under the Digital Assets Issuance Law (LEAD), the National Commission of Digital Assets (CNAD) keeps a registry of digital asset service providers (PSAD in Spanish), and providers must register with CNAD before offering covered services. See Travel Rule requirements in El Salvador.
• Elsewhere, the same activities are licensed under other names: VASP in most FATF member countries, CASP in the EU under MiCA, and SPSAV in Brazil.

Is a DASP the same as a VASP or a CASP?

In practice, yes. The three names describe the same kind of business under different laws. DASP is the term France used until July 2026 and El Salvador still uses. VASP is the FATF's term and the one most countries use. CASP is the EU's term under MiCA. The activities covered and the AML duties, including the Travel Rule, are largely the same.

What does a DASP license or registration involve?

Requirements differ by country, but regulators usually expect a DASP to have:

• A registration or license from the national regulator before serving customers
• Fit and proper management and clear ownership
• An AML/CFT program, including KYC, transaction monitoring and suspicious activity reporting
• Travel Rule compliance: sharing originator and beneficiary information with transfers
• Cybersecurity, custody and operational risk controls
• Minimum capital or insurance, in some regimes

Is there a DASP license in Brazil?

Not under that name. Brazil's virtual asset service providers (sociedades prestadoras de serviços de ativos virtuais, or SPSAVs) are authorized by the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) under Law 14,478/2022 and BCB Resolutions 519, 520 and 521, published in November 2025. Resolution 520 took effect on 2 February 2026 and includes Travel Rule requirements that phase in through 2028, starting with domestic transfers. Firms that were already operating had a transition window to notify the BCB or apply for authorization.

Read Brazil's Travel Rule requirements and our guide to the BCB resolutions.

On-demand webinar: How to prepare for Brazil's new crypto regulatory framework. Speakers from the Banco Central do Brasil, Veirano Advogados, RegDoor and Mercado Bitcoin walk through licensing, AML and Travel Rule obligations under the BCB resolutions. Recorded in November 2025. Watch it on demand.

DASPs and the Travel Rule

Whatever the local name, FATF's Travel Rule (Recommendation 16) applies to these businesses. They must obtain, hold and share originator and beneficiary information when they send or receive digital asset transfers, and know who is on the other side of each transfer. In practice, that means being able to reach and verify counterparty DASPs and VASPs in other jurisdictions.

Getting licensed as a DASP or VASP? Notabene helps regulated digital asset businesses meet the Travel Rule wherever they operate. See how Travel Rule compliance works with Notabene or book a demo.

Related terms: VASP, CASP, MiCA, Travel Rule.