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As regulatory frameworks evolve to bring crypto and virtual asset markets into the mainstream financial ecosystem, a new set of compliance requirements are emerging for VASPs (Virtual Asset Service Providers) and CASPs (Crypto-Asset Service Providers). Under FATF recommendation, Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) are being utilised by to verify originator and beneficiary entities to global transactions (under FATF recommendations).
As regulatory frameworks evolve to bring crypto and virtual asset markets into the mainstream financial ecosystem, a new set of compliance requirements are emerging for VASPs (Virtual Asset Service Providers) and CASPs (Crypto-Asset Service Providers). Under FATF recommendation, Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) are being utilised by to verify originator and beneficiary entities to global transactions (under FATF recommendations).
VASPs and CASPs are simply entities that facilitate the transfer, exchange, safekeeping, or issuance of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokenized securities.
While “VASP” is a term introduced by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), “CASP” has emerged under Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Both are essentially custodians of financial trust in the digital asset economy.
As TradFi and DeFi begin to merge in terms of regulatory landscape, the LEI is one tool being used to identify counterparties clearly in a global manner, as crypto knows no borders, meet reporting obligations and ultimately reduce risk of fraud, money-laundering and unnecessary delays.
The Legal Entity Identifier is a 20-character, globally standardized alphanumeric code based on the ISO 17442 standard.
Managed by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), the LEI links to high-quality, verified reference data on who a legal entity is and how it’s structured, moreover and unlike other identifiers its data quality is regularly assessed and published, and entities must renew it each year.
For VASPs and CASPs, the LEI is becoming essential in:
of digital asset market participants believe LEIs improve onboarding speed according to ESMA.
Moreover, and according to ESMA survey data, 86% of CASPs already prefer to use the LEI as a means of identification.
Streamline reporting requirements to regulatory bodies with standardized entity identification.
Build trust with institutional investors and traditional financial institutions by adopting global standards.
Meet FATF recommendations for identifying originator and beneficiary entities in virtual asset transfers.
Enhance the transparency of transactions across borders and different regulatory jurisdictions.
Accurately identify counterparties to mitigate risk and prevent fraud in the digital asset space.
The FATF Travel Rule aims to reduce associated risks with the transfer of virtual assets and crypto, especially in ownership identification. It achieves this by mandating that the exchange collects data on the identity of the sender and beneficiary account holders and makes this available.
In June 2025, the FATF updated the interpretive note to Recommendation 16 to explicitly require LEIs for identifying legal persons involved in a transaction. This makes the LEI an embedded component of the global AML toolkit.
Where the sender or receiver is a legal entity, the LEI must accompany the transaction message, ensuring transparency across borders.
“In an industry built on innovation, adopting global standards like the LEI is not a burden—it’s a competitive advantage.”
– Darragh Hayes, CEO, LEI Worldwide
Exchange A
Originator VASP
LEI Verified Information Transfer
Exchange B
Beneficiary VASP
MiCAR is an EU regulation aimed at ensuring market integrity within the crypto-asset space. This covers VASPs/CASPs and any other digital asset activities such custodian wallet providers, crypto brokers, trading platforms or order/investment fulfillment services.
Under the European MiCA regulation, CASPs are required to obtain an LEI to fulfill disclosure obligation. The regulation aims to harmonize crypto regulation across EU member states. Due to its accessible nature the LEI facilitates:
The EUs TFR regulation covers the requirement of an LEI for VASPs in sections 4(1) and (2) which states that, subject to the existence of the necessary field in the relevant payments message format, and where provided by the payer to its payment service provider, the current LEI of the payer (or an equivalent official identifier) should accompany the transfer.”
“We see evident benefits of the LEI to simplify counterparty due diligence. It delivers consistent, high-quality, and globally recognized entity identification, greatly helping both financial market supervisors and participants to assess exposure across marketplaces. The LEI code contains a record of information about the company, including its identity and group structure. And as the LEI has its own independent validation process to verify the accuracy of the data, the use of the LEI as common market practice is increasingly supported by regulators and organizations across the globe.”
– Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF)
Submit your entity details through our secure portal.
Our team verifies your data with local business registries.
Your unique 20-character LEI code is generated.
Your LEI is published to the Global LEI Index.
As the crypto begins to mature and come into the regulatory fold so to speak, the ecosystem will require some institutional-grade compliance as traditional finance, but we must accept the two sectors are not one and the same. The industry must adopt elements of TradFi to be globally accepted institutionally speaking. The most relevant of which is removing the ‘its anonymous’ label. This can be done by utilising existing standards which are system and industry agnostic.
Integrating LEIs directly into blockchain transactions for verifiable counterparty identity.
Standardizing off-chain regulatory reporting with a universally accepted identifier.
Utilizing vLEIs (Verifiable LEIs) to authenticate organizations and persons in official roles digitally.
Embedding LEI data into smart contracts to enforce compliance and identity rules automatically.
Enhancing systemic risk analysis in the crypto ecosystem through mapped corporate structures.
Bridging the gap between TradFi and DeFi by providing the identity infrastructure institutions require.
Future-Proof Your Crypto Compliance Strategy
Ensure your operations are ready for MiCA, the Travel Rule, and global regulatory scrutiny.
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