Bitgo Europe launches MiCAR-ready custody platform

Bitgo Europe launched on June 17 a BaFin-authorized Crypto-as-a-Service platform that offers MiCAR-compliant custody and wallet infrastructure to virtual asset service providers across the European Economic Area whose legacy VASP registrations are expiring.

The platform provides client asset segregation, modular wallet APIs that let firms keep their existing front-end experiences, programmatic onboarding and KYC under Bitgo Europe’s compliance standards, and trading and settlement through Bitgo Europe’s BaFin-supervised trading authorization. It supports SEPA on- and off-ramps for euro funding and withdrawals where available and offers custodial wallet insurance coverage up to $250 million, subject to terms and conditions.

Bitgo Europe is authorized by Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, BaFin, as a crypto-asset service provider under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. The company described the service as aimed at eligible VASPs, fintechs and digital asset platforms that need to align operations with MiCAR’s authorization framework without rebuilding a regulated stack from scratch.

MiCAR replaces fragmented national VASP registration regimes across the EEA with a single authorization framework for crypto-asset service providers. Lithuania’s legacy VASP registration window closed on Dec. 31, 2025. Poland faces a MiCAR transition deadline of July 1, 2026, while domestic implementation remains unresolved.

For firms that relied on expiring or expired national registration regimes, building a standalone regulated operating stack can be costly and slow. Bitgo Europe’s CaaS provides an option for smaller and mid-size firms to continue operating using a BaFin-authorized backend while keeping customer-facing products in place.

Jody Mettler, chief operating officer of Bitgo and president of Bitgo Bank and Trust, described the platform as “designed to help eligible businesses move to a regulated infrastructure model without disrupting customers or abandoning existing product experiences.” Mike Belshe, Bitgo’s CEO and co-founder, wrote that “Bitgo was built for moments like this, where security, regulation, and scalable technology need to come together.”

Bitgo Europe noted that using its infrastructure does not prevent a firm from applying for its own crypto-asset service provider license. Eligible businesses may use the CaaS platform now while they evaluate or pursue CASP authorization in parallel.

The CaaS offering is available now across the EEA. Bitgo Europe emphasized that insurance and certain service features are subject to terms and availability, and that SEPA access depends on local arrangements.