SALVUS launches “The 2026 SALVUS License Barometer: Who’s Open for Business”

SALVUS has released the inaugural edition of “The 2026 SALVUS License Barometer: Who’s Open for Business,” an annual, forward‑looking view of the most relevant licensing regimes for FX/CFD brokers, payment institutions and crypto‑asset service providers. 

The Barometer is designed as a practical decision-making tool for boards, founders and investors navigating an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape. Rather than focusing on theory or formal rulebooks alone, it reflects what SALVUS observes in live licensing mandates; how regulators are behaving in practice, how predictable approval processes really are, and which licenses are emerging as strategic and premium assets. 

Drawing on SALVUS’ mandates across Cyprus, the wider EU, Mauritius, Canada, the UAE, South Africa and Seychelles, the Barometer assesses each jurisdiction qualitatively across five dimensions: regulatory clarity, time‑to‑licence, commercial attractiveness, post‑licensing burden and their treatment of innovative or grey‑area business models such as prediction markets and tokenised products. 

The 2026 edition highlights several regulatory dynamics shaping the FX, payments and crypto-asset landscape. As frameworks move from policy design into day-to-day supervision, differences in national supervisory approaches are becoming more visible, particularly around substance, governance and ongoing compliance. Licensing strategies are also increasingly shaped by the interaction between traditional financial services and virtual-asset activity, as well as by how regulators approach emerging and hybrid business models. Together, these trends underline the importance of forward-looking regulatory planning and careful jurisdiction selection for firms considering new licences or expansions in 2026. 

The 2026 edition focuses on three segments: 

• FX and CFD brokers 

• EMIs and payment institutions 

• Crypto‑asset service providers and virtual‑asset platforms

For each segment, the Barometer sets out a qualitative league table, jurisdiction-specific commentary, and a 10–12 month outlook, enabling decision-makers to align licensing strategy with risk appetite, speed-to-market, and long-term group structure. 

A key theme emerging from the 2026 analysis is the growing value of licenses with crypto or virtual-asset permissions, alongside heightened expectations around capital, governance, and group-level risk. The Barometer also addresses emerging regulatory pressure points and grey areas, including prediction markets, event-driven tokens which are increasingly forcing regulators to draw hard perimeter lines. 

The full Barometer is available as a complimentary PDF for qualifying institutions and professional counterparties. To request your copy, please contact us at info@salvusfunds.com.

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