Crypto Wallets Without Banking Licenses Banned on Google Play
Google Play is tightening its grip on crypto wallets, introducing sweeping new rules that effectively ban most wallet apps from its platform unless their developers hold formal banking or money service licenses.
The policy, which spans 15 major jurisdictions including the US, EU, UK, Canada, and Japan, applies to both custodial and non-custodial wallets. It requires developers to comply with local financial licensing laws before their apps can appear on Google Play.
In the US, this means wallet providers must register as a money services business (MSB) with FinCEN, secure state-level money transmitter licenses, or operate under a banking license. Even non-custodial wallets—which, by design, do not hold user funds—would be swept into strict anti–money laundering (AML), counter–terrorist financing (CTF), and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements. This is despite FinCEN’s own 2019 guidance stating that unhosted wallets are not considered money transmitters.
Across the Atlantic, the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime demands wallet issuers be authorised as crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). Similar requirements apply in other jurisdictions under regulators like the UK’s FCA and Japan’s Financial Services Agency.
Critics warn that the move places “unmeetable burdens” on independent wallet developers, potentially forcing open-source projects off the Play Store and concentrating the market in the hands of a few well-funded, licensed entities. They argue that the costs of compliance could choke innovation, reduce privacy-focused options, and limit user choice.
Google defends the change as necessary to ensure user safety amid rapidly shifting global regulations. However, by treating custodial and non-custodial wallets identically, the policy could drastically reshape the mobile crypto wallet ecosystem—favouring established financial players over grassroots developers.
The rules are effective immediately for new app submissions, with existing wallet apps required to comply or face removal from the Play Store.
