Latvia's central bank has granted UK-backed Noah a double licence covering both crypto-asset services and payment institution status, bringing the country's MiCA authorisation tally to 12 firms as of October 1, 2026.

Latvijas Banka issued the approval on September 30, 2026, to Noah LV SIA, the Latvian subsidiary of UK-based Noah HQ Ltd. The authorisation falls under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets framework (MiCA), the bloc's rulebook for crypto businesses seeking legal operation across member states.

What does the licence cover?

The crypto-asset service provider side of Noah's authorisation spans three core activities:

• custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients
• exchanging crypto-assets for fiat currency, and swapping one crypto-asset for another
• order execution services

The payment institution component adds fund transfers to the mix. The dual structure is notable: Noah can hold client crypto assets and move fiat on their behalf under a single national authorisation.

Noah LV SIA was only established as a Latvian entity in July 2026, meaning the licence landed roughly two months after the subsidiary was registered — a fast turnaround by EU licensing standards, where MiCA applications routinely take longer.

Why did a UK firm set up in Latvia?

The operational logic is straightforward. A British firm that wants to serve European customers under MiCA needs a home base inside the bloc, since UK authorisations carry no passporting rights into the EU single market post-Brexit.

Noah is not the first UK-rooted firm to take this route through Riga. Bleap SIA, a UK company operating in the Latvian market, received its approval on June 25, 2026 — though with a narrower scope. Bleap's licence covers solely the exchange of crypto-assets for funds and for other crypto-assets, with no custody, no order execution and no payment institution status.

The contrast illustrates a feature of MiCA's design: firms can seek authorisation for only the activities they intend to run. A startup focused exclusively on exchange services, like Bleap, does not need to build out custody infrastructure to pass through the regulatory door.

How fast is Latvia's MiCA roster growing?

Latvijas Banka issued its first MiCA licence to BlockBen SIA in December 2025. Hodleris SIA is among the other firms that have since received similar authorisations. As of October 1, 2026, the count stands at 12 companies.

That pace — 12 approvals in roughly ten months — points to a deliberate strategy by Latvian regulators to position the country as a fintech and crypto-friendly jurisdiction. The approach carries potential implications for foreign investment and for regional competition among EU member states vying for crypto business, as firms weigh where to anchor their European operations.

Why is passporting the real prize?

A MiCA licence grants passporting rights across the EU and the European Economic Area. A firm authorised in one member state can offer services across the bloc without restarting the paperwork in each country, which converts a single national approval into a 30-plus-market operating footprint.

For Noah, the Latvian licence functions as an entry ticket to the entire European single market. For Latvia, each new authorisation deepens the local regulatory ecosystem and adds to the revenue base of Latvijas Banka's supervision function.

The next milestones to watch are how quickly the Latvian count rises from 12, and whether more UK-based players follow Noah and Bleap into the Baltics as the MiCA authorisation window matures.