Money Transmitter License / Exchange Licensing
The general concept of the government authorization an exchange needs to legally move customer funds — the specific license required varies enormously by country.
Almost every country requires a business that moves customer money (which, for regulatory purposes, usually includes crypto exchanges) to hold some form of government authorization — but the specific license, the issuing authority, and the requirements attached to it vary enormously. In the US, this typically means registering with FinCEN as a Money Services Business (MSB) plus separate money transmitter licenses in most individual states; in the EU, it means a CASP license under MiCA; in the UK, FCA registration; in Singapore, a license under the Payment Services Act; and so on.
A useful distinction worth knowing: "registered" (often just an AML/reporting registration, a relatively low bar) and "licensed" (a higher bar, usually with capital requirements, conduct rules, and ongoing supervision) get conflated in a lot of marketing copy — always check which one an exchange is actually claiming, and verify it on the regulator's own public register rather than taking the exchange's word for it.
Related terms
VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider)
A term used by FATF for businesses providing virtual-asset services — exchanges, custodial wallets, and similar — subject to AML rules worldwide.
Regulatory Arbitrage
The practice of a company structuring its operations or choosing its home jurisdiction specifically to benefit from a more favorable regulatory regime elsewhere.