Nodu secures Latvian licences for EU stablecoin payments

Nodu has received two authorisations from Latvijas Banka that allow the stablecoin payments infrastructure company to provide regulated crypto-asset and payment services from Latvia. The central bank’s supervision committee approved a Crypto-Asset Service Provider licence under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation and a separate payment institution licence on 8 July 2026, according to Nodu.

The MiCA licence permits Nodu Digital SIA to transfer crypto-assets for clients and exchange crypto-assets for fiat funds. The payment institution licence allows the company to provide money remittance services, giving it regulatory cover for a payment flow that starts in fiat currency, moves through stablecoin settlement and ends with fiat payout.

Nodu said the structure is designed so that end clients do not need to hold or directly handle crypto-assets. For banks, fintechs and payment companies, the company is positioning the licences as a way to connect to stablecoin settlement through its application programming interface, while staying within a European regulatory framework.

MiCA passporting expands the addressable market

Nodu said the authorisation makes it the 10th company licensed by Latvijas Banka under MiCA since the regulation took effect at the end of 2024. Under MiCA’s passporting rules, a licensed crypto-asset service provider in one member state can offer covered services across the EU and European Economic Area, subject to the regulation’s requirements.

MiCA created a harmonised EU regime for crypto-asset service providers, including firms that provide custody, exchange, trading platform and transfer services. In Nodu’s case, the licence covers transfer services on behalf of clients and exchanges between crypto-assets and fiat funds, according to the company.

The payment institution licence sits alongside that crypto-asset authorisation. Payment institutions in the EU can provide specified payment services, including money remittance, once authorised by a national regulator. For Nodu, the combination is intended to support both sides of a stablecoin payment: entry and exit in fiat money, with crypto-asset transfer used as the settlement rail.

Company plans umbrella model and SMB accounts

Nodu said the licences will also support an “umbrella” model for companies that do not hold their own authorisations. Under that approach, businesses would be able to offer regulated stablecoin payment services through Nodu’s licensed infrastructure, a model the company compared with electronic-money distribution in traditional payments.

The company said it also plans to launch payment accounts for small and medium-sized businesses, extending its stablecoin infrastructure beyond API services for banks, fintechs and payment companies into business payments.

Daria Dubinina, co-founder of Nodu, said the company had treated MiCA as a product roadmap rather than only a compliance transition. “With both licences granted, a bank or fintech can plug into one API and get regulated stablecoin settlement across 60+ countries, and companies without a licence of their own can operate under our regulatory umbrella,” Dubinina said. She added that the company’s next step is to bring the same rails to SMBs through payment accounts.

Nodu said the Latvian licences add to its existing regulatory footprint, which includes a virtual asset service provider registration in Poland and a money services business licence in Canada.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.