A virtual asset service provider (VASP, «PSAV» in Argentina) is anyone who, as a business and on behalf of others, exchanges virtual assets for legal tender or for other virtual assets, transfers them, holds them in custody or administers them, or provides financial services linked to an issuer's offering or to the sale of a virtual asset.
A virtual asset service provider (VASP, «PSAV» in Argentina) is anyone who, as a business and on behalf of others, exchanges virtual assets for legal tender or for other virtual assets, transfers them, holds them in custody or administers them, or provides financial services linked to an issuer's offering or to the sale of a virtual asset. Since Law 27,739 (2024), it must register in the PSAV Registry of the National Securities Commission (CNV) before operating: the application is filed through the Trámites a Distancia (TAD) platform and the forms are uploaded to the Financial Information Highway (AIF). The definitive regime, General Resolution 1058/2025 in force since May 26, 2025, set categories, minimum equity and custody rules. As of October 13, 2026, the CNV public registry lists 81 registered VASPs, all legal entities.
Latest changes
| Date | Rule | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 11, 2026 | CNV General Resolution 1150/2026 | Extends the Title XXII tokenization regime to securities issued under automatic authorization and extends the sandbox to December 31, 2027 (Title XXII, Chapter I, arts. 1 and 38). It keeps the requirement, already set by General Resolution 1069/2025, that only VASPs registered in every category may take part (art. 14). |
| May 14, 2026 | CNV General Resolution 1139/2026 | Adds VASPs to the obliged entities under Title XI of the CNV Rules, the anti-money-laundering title (Section I, art. 1): they must follow its rules on payment methods with clients (Section II) and file their anti-money-laundering information through the AIF (art. 2), an obligation that applies to VASPs from July 1, 2026. |
| Mar 6, 2026 | CNV General Resolution 1118/2026 | Repeals Chapter II of Title XIV (the Innovation and Financial Inclusion Hub) and therefore renames the title. It does not change the VASP chapter (Chapter III). |
| Mar 14, 2025 (in force 45 days after publication) | CNV General Resolution 1058/2025 | Sets the definitive VASP regime in Title XIV, Chapter III: categories, minimum net equity, custody, cybersecurity, conduct and reporting. |
Most recent first. Rules checked against their official source as of October 13, 2026.
What a PSAV is and who must register
A PSAV is anyone who, as a business and on behalf of others, provides any of these services: exchange between virtual assets and legal tender; exchange between virtual assets; transfer; custody or administration; or financial services linked to an issuer’s offering or the sale of a virtual asset. Argentine legal entities, resident individuals and foreign providers operating in the country must register before operating. Not covered: trading on one’s own account, accepting crypto for one’s own products, decentralized protocols with no identifiable provider and pure self-custody wallet providers. Individuals can only operate in the first two categories and are exempt below 35,000 UVA a month.
The five categories and minimum equity
- Category 1, exchange between virtual assets and legal tender: 150,000 dollars.
- Category 2, exchange between virtual assets: 150,000 dollars.
- Category 3, transfer: 75,000 dollars.
- Category 4, custody or administration: 150,000 dollars.
- Category 5, services to issuers and offerings: 35,000 dollars.
The minimum is halved if the volume traded or held in custody over the last twelve months is below 2.5 million dollars. With several categories, the highest requirement applies, not the sum. No liquid counterpart is required. If equity falls below the minimum, it must be disclosed as a material fact and a recovery plan filed within ten business days.
Current requirements: which rules the CNV applies
The registration and operating requirements in this guide are in the PSAV chapter of the CNV Rules (Title XIV, Chapter III, N.T. 2013). According to its updated text on InfoLEG, checked on October 13, 2026, the chapter is still the one set by GR 1058/2025, with no later substantive amendments:
- Law 27,739 (Official Gazette, March 15, 2024): defines the PSAV in art. 4 bis of Law 25,246 and puts the CNV in charge of the PSAV Registry, with its supervisory and sanctioning powers (art. 37).
- CNV GR 994/2024 (Official Gazette, March 25, 2024): added the PSAV chapter to the CNV Rules.
- CNV GR 1058/2025 (Official Gazette, March 14, 2025): replaced and expanded the chapter with the definitive regime: categories, minimum equity, custody, cybersecurity, conduct and reporting. It has been in force since May 26, 2025, according to the CNV.
- CNV GR 1118/2026 (Official Gazette, March 6, 2026): repealed Chapter II of Title XIV (the Innovation and Financial Inclusion Hub) and therefore renamed the title; it does not change the PSAV chapter.
Anti-money-laundering (AML) obligations are set separately: toward the UIF, in UIF Resolution 49/2024, and toward the CNV, in Title XI of the CNV Rules. Since CNV GR 1139/2026 (Official Gazette, May 14, 2026), that title lists VASPs among the obliged entities of the capital market (Section I, art. 1): they must follow its rules on payment methods with clients and file their anti-money-laundering information through the AIF (beneficial owners, compliance officer, manual and risk self-assessment, among others), an obligation that has applied to VASPs since July 1, 2026.
Organizational requirements
- Legal form: only a public limited company or a limited liability company; simplified SAS companies are excluded. A website with a «.ar» domain and the legend «Registered under No. … in the CNV PSAV Registry» on the website, app and social media.
- Officers: a regulatory compliance and internal control officer, a public relations officer and an anti-money-laundering compliance officer, with an alternate, before the financial intelligence unit (UIF).
- Custody: segregation of client assets, key custody schemes (cold storage, multisig, whitelists), client fiat segregated at an authorized institution and a ban on using client assets on one’s own account.
- Systems: risk-based cybersecurity and an annual systems audit, signed by an IT expert, that includes proof of reserves.
- Clients: a code of conduct, risk warnings, transparent fees, a white paper for every asset offered and ten-year record keeping.
How to register, step by step
- Fill in the CNV online registration form.
- Open the procedure on the Trámites a Distancia (TAD) platform with the documents: bylaws whose corporate purpose covers the activity, shareholders, directors, addresses, requested categories, background records, an anti-money-laundering sworn statement, the IT expert’s report and proof of equity.
- Obtain credentials for the Financial Information Highway (AIF) and upload the forms there.
- Answer the CNV’s observations until it issues the decision that assigns the registration number.
- Register as an obliged entity with the UIF within the following 30 days.
Opening the procedure is free; the 2026 annual supervision fee is 13,360,000 pesos for legal entities. Ongoing duties follow: a monthly report to the CNV, an annual systems audit and audited financial statements, a risk self-assessment filed with the UIF by April 30 and suspicious transaction reports within 24 hours.
CNV list of VASPs: how to check the registry
The PSAV Registry is public (CNV frequently asked questions, item 12). To check whether a provider is registered:
- Go to the CNV PSAV Registry.
- Expand "Personas jurídicas" (legal entities) or "Personas humanas" (individuals). For legal entities, the table shows the registration number, registration date, corporate name, trade name, tax ID (CUIT), registered activities, website and email.
- For the full list, click "Descargar reporte": it downloads an Excel file with one sheet per type of person.
- Check that the number matches the legend "Inscripto bajo el N.º … en el Registro de PSAV de la CNV (República Argentina)", which the VASP must display on its website, app or social media (art. 5 of the PSAV chapter).
As of October 13, 2026, the list has 81 registered VASPs, all legal entities: no individual is registered.
Foreign VASPs
A foreign provider operates in Argentina if it uses a «.ar» domain, receives funds from residents through third parties, clearly targets residents, advertises to them (unless the client makes the first contact) or if more than 20 % of its volume is Argentine. In that case it can only register through a branch or permanent representation with capital assigned in the country, or through a local company in which it holds a stake: the foreign entity cannot register directly.
VASPs and securities tokenization
The CNV tokenization regime was created by General Resolution 1069/2025, extended by GR 1081/2025 to shares, corporate bonds and CEDEARs, and GR 1150/2026 extended the sandbox to December 31, 2027. To take part, a VASP must be registered in all five categories at once: as of October 13, 2026, 34 of the 81 are, according to the CNV list. How an issuance is structured is covered in asset tokenization in Argentina. The map for the whole region is in asset tokenization in Latin America.
Operating without registration
It is prohibited. The CNV can issue warnings, fines of 100,000 to 100 million pesos — up to five times the profit obtained —, disqualification and bans, cancel the registration at the request of the UIF and ask for the offender’s website and social media to be blocked.
Frequently asked questions
What is a PSAV?
It is the Argentine term for a virtual asset service provider (VASP): anyone who, as a business and on behalf of others, exchanges virtual assets for legal tender or for other virtual assets, transfers them, holds them in custody or administers them, or provides financial services linked to an issuer's offering or to the sale of a virtual asset (art. 4 bis of Law 25,246, added by Law 27,739). See our glossary entry on the virtual asset service provider (PSAV).
Where is the CNV list of VASPs?
In the CNV PSAV Registry, which is public and can be downloaded as an Excel file. As of October 13, 2026, it lists 81 registered VASPs, all legal entities.
Can an individual register as a PSAV?
Yes, if resident in Argentina, but only in categories 1 and 2: exchange between virtual assets and legal tender, and exchange between virtual assets (art. 8 of the PSAV chapter, as worded by CNV GR 1058/2025). Individuals do not need to register if their transactions do not exceed, in aggregate, 35,000 UVA per calendar month (art. 1). The 2026 annual fee for individuals is 5,344,000 pesos. As of October 13, 2026, no individual is registered.
How much does PSAV registration cost?
Opening the procedure is free, according to the CNV frequently asked questions. After that, the annual supervision and control fee applies: in 2026, 13,360,000 pesos for legal entities and 5,344,000 pesos for individuals.
How we help
Registration is a legal file, but half of the requirements are technical: segregated custody, cybersecurity, proof of reserves, traceability and reporting. We build that layer — custody and wallets, platform and compliance dashboards — alongside the Argentine counsel who signs the filing.
Official sources
- Law 27,739 (InfoLEG)
- CNV Rules, Title XIV, Chapter III: current text of the PSAV regime (InfoLEG)
- CNV General Resolution 1058/2025 (Official Gazette)
- CNV PSAV Registry
- CNV: PSAV Registry filing through TAD and procedure guides
- PSAV Registry frequently asked questions, version 1.1 (CNV)
- Supervision and control fees (CNV)
- UIF Resolution 49/2024 (argentina.gob.ar)
Data as of October 2, 2026, checked against the Official Gazette, InfoLEG, the CNV and the UIF (current text of the PSAV chapter). VASP registration or a PSAV platform? Talk to us.