This article is about what a company needs to do to accept payment in cryptocurrency. It covers the two ways of accepting payment, contract terms with the customer and with the payment provider, tax in the EU, the UK and the US, and anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions requirements. Everything is based on primary sources: acts of regulators and tax authorities and a court judgment.
Checked on 23 October 2026. Rules and sources are current as of this date.
Two ways to accept crypto
The choice decides the contracts, licensing and tax, so start with it.
Directly to your own wallet
The customer pays to the company’s address, the company receives the cryptocurrency itself and decides whether to hold it or convert it. There is no payment intermediary, so no intermediary licensing. All the accounting, tax and screening work falls on the company.
Through a payment provider
The customer pays the provider, which accepts the cryptocurrency and passes ordinary money or tokens to the company. The company gets a familiar settlement, and rate risk and checks move to the provider. But the provider must be licensed, and that must be verified.
Why it matters
Under FinCEN’s guidance (the US regulator), a processor that accepts cryptocurrency from a customer and pays the seller is a money transmitter under the Bank Secrecy Act. Under EU rules, similar services require authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP).
Scope
The EU, the UK and the US. If the company is registered elsewhere the structure is the same, but check local rules.
Contracts
There is no mandatory contract form for accepting crypto. Below is practice that settles typical disputes. It is not a legal requirement but our recommendation.
Price in ordinary currency
State the price in euros, dollars or another familiar currency and calculate the crypto amount at the rate at the time of payment. Then the rate risk is clear to both sides.
Rate lock window
The rate is fixed for a limited time, for example 15 minutes. If the customer does not pay in time, the invoice is recalculated. Put this in the contract or payment terms.
Underpayment, overpayment, wrong network
A payment below the invoice, above it, on another network or in another token happens all the time. You need rules on what is credited, what is returned, at whose cost and by when.
Refunds
A crypto payment cannot be reversed like a card payment. A refund is a new transaction the company makes itself, and the rate at that time may differ. State the refund terms in advance, including the refund currency and network fees.
Contract with the provider
Check who holds the funds before settlement, the settlement currency, the provider’s licences, fees and timing, and what happens if a payment is blocked or the account is closed. Agree separately who is responsible for sanctions screening and AML checks.
Customer terms
In public terms state which tokens and networks are accepted, how the price is calculated, how refunds work and who pays the network fee. Ordinary consumer protection rules of your country apply.
Do you need a licence
For the company that accepts crypto as payment for its own goods and services, as a rule no. For an intermediary, yes.
An ordinary seller
FinCEN’s guidance defines a user as a person that obtains virtual currency to purchase goods or services, and such a user is not a money transmitter (section 3). A seller that only transmits funds as part of a sale is also not an intermediary (section 2). In our assessment the EU is similar: accepting payment for your own goods is not in itself a crypto-asset service under MiCA. But if the company exchanges others’ crypto or transfers it for customers, the position is different.
A payment provider
Under section 4.6 of FinCEN’s guidance, a crypto payment processor is a money transmitter. In the EU the MiCA transitional periods ended on 1 July 2026: services to EU clients without authorisation are not allowed, and third-country firms as a rule cannot serve EU clients except under the narrow reverse solicitation exception (ESMA statement).
Stablecoins and e-money
E-money tokens (EMTs) are both crypto-assets under MiCA and electronic money under PSD2 (EU Payment Services Directive 2). Under the EBA (European Banking Authority) opinion of 10 June 2025, transfers of such tokens and custodial wallets for them may require a payment licence, and national supervisors were advised to allow a transition until 2 March 2026.
How to check a provider
In the EU find it in the ESMA register or a national register and check that the licensed entity itself provides the service, not another company in the group. In the US look for FinCEN MSB (money services business) registration and state licences.
A contract with an unlicensed provider is a risk not only for the provider. Your bank may block settlements and a regulator may ask where the money came from.
We will review your situation and propose a solution for your project.
Tax
Tax does not depend on how you accept. The state sees payment in crypto as ordinary revenue, just measured in ordinary money.
United States
If you receive digital assets for services, that is income equal to their fair market value in US dollars on the date of receipt (IRS FAQ questions 57 and 58). The same amount becomes the asset’s basis (question 59). When the asset is later sold or exchanged, a gain or loss arises as a separate transaction. For independent contractors there is also self-employment tax (question 60).
United Kingdom
A trading business includes cryptoassets received from customers or given to suppliers in taxable trading profits and pays income tax or corporation tax (HMRC, CRYPTO40350).
VAT in the EU
In Hedqvist (22 October 2015) the CJEU (Court of Justice of the EU) held that exchanging traditional currency for bitcoin is a VAT-exempt service. That ruling concerns the exchange itself. A sale of goods for cryptocurrency remains an ordinary taxable supply, valued in ordinary currency.
DAC8 reporting
From 1 January 2026 the DAC8 (the eighth EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation, tax reporting on crypto-assets) directive requires crypto-asset service providers to report customers’ transactions to EU tax authorities. Your crypto revenue and later exchanges will be visible to the tax authority, so records must be complete.
Form 8300 in the US
The law requires reporting receipts of more than USD 10,000 in digital assets as cash, but under IRS Announcement 2024-4 digital assets need not yet be counted until regulations are issued.
| What | How to measure | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | At fair market value in local currency on the date of receipt | Fix the rate source and time in the accounting policy |
| Later exchange or sale | A separate transaction, the difference between basis and sale price | Track each token and receipt date |
| Network fees | An expense or a reduction of the amount, under your country’s rules | Decide who pays the fee and say so in the contract |
| Refund to a customer | A separate transaction, the rate may differ | Record the refund currency and rate |
We do not give tax opinions on a specific company. Below is the general picture, and the specific structure must be agreed with a tax adviser in the country of registration.
AML and sanctions
A company that only sells its own goods is as a rule not an obliged entity for AML. But three requirements still reach it in practice.
Sanctions
Sanctions rules apply to everyone. OFAC (US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control)’s 2021 guidance expects companies dealing in virtual currency to have a sanctions compliance programme with risk assessment, customer checks and wallet address screening. A payment from a sanctioned address can be a violation even for an ordinary seller.
Where the money comes from
FATF (the international anti-money laundering standard-setter)’s seventh update of 2026 names the use of stablecoins and transfers through unhosted wallets as growing risks. A company accepting large payments needs to understand whose money it is and keep supporting records.
Travel rule at the provider
The rule on passing sender and recipient data applies to providers, not sellers. In the EU the EBA guidelines apply from 30 December 2024. In practice the provider may ask you or the customer for data, and suspend a payment if refused.
Banks and counterparties
Banks look at crypto revenue closely. Prepare a description of the structure, a list of providers and licences, an accounting policy and an address screening policy. This answers most questions at account opening and on withdrawals.
If the company itself exchanges or transfers crypto-assets for others, it may become an obliged entity itself (a CASP in the EU, a money transmitter in the US). That is a separate licence and a full AML programme.
What to do now
A sequence that suits most companies.
Choose how to accept
Directly or through a provider. This decides licensing, accounting and risk.
Start hereCheck the provider
The licence of the entity that actually provides the service, the settlement currency, who holds the funds, the blocking terms.
Update contracts and payment terms
Price in ordinary currency, rate window, underpayment and overpayment, refunds, network fees.
Set up accounting and tax
Rate source, revenue recognition date, tracking per token. Agree with a tax adviser.
Turn on address screening
Check wallets against sanctions lists and keep records of checks.
Prepare a pack for the bank
Description of the structure, list of providers, policies, sample transactions.
It is simplest to start with a licensed provider settling in ordinary money, and to add direct receipt to your own wallet once accounting and checks are in place.
Crypto changes how you are paid, not your duties: revenue must be counted and the source of money understood.LegalBit team
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a licence if I accept crypto for my own goods?
As a rule no. FinCEN does not treat as a money transmitter a person that obtains virtual currency to purchase goods or services, or a seller that transmits funds only as part of a sale. A licence is needed by those who exchange or transfer crypto-assets for others.
Is it better to accept to my own wallet or through a provider?
A licensed provider is simpler for accounting and checks, but you must rely on its licence and terms. Your own wallet gives control, but the company does all the accounting, tax and screening work.
How do I value crypto revenue?
In the US at fair market value on the date of receipt (IRS FAQ, question 58). In the UK cryptoassets received from customers go into trading profits. Elsewhere check local rules and fix the rate source in your accounting policy.
Is the exchange of cryptocurrency subject to VAT?
In Hedqvist the CJEU held the exchange of traditional currency for bitcoin to be VAT-exempt. A sale of goods for cryptocurrency remains an ordinary supply.
What about sanctions?
Screen sender addresses against sanctions lists and keep records. OFAC expects companies in this area to have a sanctions compliance programme.
What is DAC8?
The EU directive on tax reporting for crypto-assets. From 1 January 2026 crypto-asset service providers report customers’ transactions to tax authorities.
See also: Payment institution and EMI licence; KYC and KYB for payment providers; Transaction laundering and miscoding; How banks block fintech startup accounts; P2E game token: security, payment instrument or in-game currency. Services: regulatory and compliance.
- ESMA: statement on the end of MiCA transitional periods (April 2026)
- EBA: Opinion EBA/Op/2025/08 on the interplay of PSD2 and MiCA for e-money tokens
- EBA: travel rule guidelines for transfers of funds and crypto-assets (4 July 2024)
- European Commission: DAC8, tax reporting on crypto-assets
- CJEU, Case C-264/14 Hedqvist (22 October 2015)
- FATF: Seventh Targeted Update on virtual assets and VASPs (16 July 2026)
- IRS: Frequently asked questions on digital asset transactions
- FinCEN: guidance FIN-2019-G001 on business models involving convertible virtual currency
- OFAC: sanctions compliance guidance for the virtual currency industry (October 2021)
- HMRC: Cryptoassets Manual, CRYPTO40350, business income paid in cryptoassets
This topic is our service
More on how we help fintech companies:
