Latviaās central bank grants MiCA crypto licence to UK-backed Noah
Latvijas Banka handed Noah LV SIA a double licence covering crypto services and payments, bringing its MiCA tally to 12 firms
Latvia’s central bank has handed another crypto firm the keys to the European single market. On September 30, 2026, Latvijas Banka issued a double licence to Noah LV SIA, the Latvian subsidiary of UK-based Noah HQ Ltd.
The approval lets Noah operate as both a crypto-asset service provider and a payment institution.
What Noah actually got
The authorisation comes under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, better known as MiCA. It is the bloc’s rulebook for crypto businesses that want to operate legally across member states.
Noah’s licence covers custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients, exchanging crypto-assets for fiat currency and swapping one crypto-asset for another, and order execution services. The payment institution side adds fund transfers to the mix.
Noah LV SIA was only established as a Latvian entity in July 2026, and the licence landed on September 30.
Latvia’s growing MiCA roster
As of October 1, 2026, Latvijas Banka had issued MiCA licences to 12 companies in total.
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The first one went to BlockBen SIA in December 2025. Hodleris SIA is among the other firms that have received similar authorisations.
Bleap SIA, a UK company operating in the Latvian market, received its approval on June 25, 2026, but with a narrower scope. Bleap’s licence is focused solely on exchanging crypto-assets for funds and for other crypto-assets. No custody, no order execution, no payment institution status.
Two of the firms highlighted in Latvia’s recent approvals, Noah and Bleap, have UK roots. A British firm that wants to serve European customers under MiCA needs a home base inside the bloc.
Why passporting is the real prize
A MiCA licence grants passporting rights across the EU and EEA, allowing a firm authorised in one member state to offer services across the bloc without starting the paperwork from scratch in each country.
Latvia’s approach fits a broader strategy of positioning the country as a fintech and crypto-friendly jurisdiction, with potential implications for foreign investment and for regional competition among EU states vying for crypto business.
What this means for firms and users
A startup that only wants to run an exchange service, like Bleap, does not need to build out custody infrastructure to get through the door.
With 12 firms approved in roughly ten months since BlockBen’s December 2025 licence, the next milestones to watch are how quickly that count rises and whether more UK-based players follow Noah and Bleap into the Baltics.