Spot crypto is lawful in Costa Rica and has never been prohibited, but it is not money: Ley 10961, published in Alcance 78 to La Gaceta 113 on 19 June 2026, defines a virtual asset as a digital representation of value that can be traded or transferred digitally and used for payments or investment, and states expressly that this does not mean it is recognised as legal tender in the country or as a currency by the Banco Central de Costa Rica.
The contract itself does not change by geography: a VIRTUAL perpetual settles in USDC everywhere.
8 venues open Virtuals Protocol perps to traders in Costa Rica.
ApeX
Aster
Avantis
gTrade
Helix
Hyperliquid
Lighter
PacificaFour steps from sign-up to an open position.
Trading VIRTUAL from Costa Rica: legal.
Regulator for Virtuals Protocol trading in Costa Rica: Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras (SUGEF) registers and supervises virtual-asset service providers for AML; Consejo Nacional de Supervisión del Sistema Financiero (CONASSIF) issues the implementing regulation.
From Costa Rica, you can fund a Virtuals Protocol position using SINPE Móvil, Bank transfer (SINPE) and Credit/debit card.
Costa Rica residents can trade Virtuals Protocol on 14 platforms, including Aevo, ApeX and Aster.