EU issues final MiCA licenses as transition period ends

Final authorizations under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) were issued as the 18-month transition period ended Wednesday, with national regulators in Italy, France, Malta and Spain granting approvals and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) listing 244 authorized crypto asset service providers (CASPs) across the EU and EEA.

Italy approved four firms this week: asset manager Hodlie, exchange Young Platform, trading venue CryptoSmart and service provider Hercle, raising the country’s total to eight authorized CASPs, according to the Bank of Italy. The bank said the approvals were granted by the financial regulator Consob in coordination with the central bank.

France added three firms-investment platform Mereau Finance, blockchain infrastructure provider Iceblock and service provider Aplo-bringing the tally of licensed CASPs in France to 31, the Autorité des marchés financiers reported. In Malta, digital asset prime broker FalconX announced it had received a MiCA license. Spain granted CASP authorization to Venga.

ESMA’s interim register showed 244 authorized CASPs in the European Union and European Economic Area by Friday, reflecting a surge of approvals in the closing days of the transitional window. The 18-month period allowed firms already operating in the bloc to continue services while applying for full MiCA authorization; that window closed Wednesday.

ESMA warned that firms failing to secure authorization by the deadline must take “immediate” steps to wind down their EU activities. Some large platforms remain unauthorized. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, applied for authorization in Greece but later withdrew its application and plans to seek approval in another member state. Greece is among member states that have not yet issued MiCA licenses.

Market-tracking data on spot orderbook liquidity indicate OKX, Coinbase, Bybit, Crypto.com, Gate and Bitstamp as the largest MiCA-authorized exchanges. These figures reflect where liquidity sits on regulated European trading venues following the transition.

MiCA creates a single regulatory framework across the EU for crypto-assets, covering licensing, conduct rules and requirements for issuers of certain tokens, including stablecoins. The regulation sets out conditions for firms to operate across the EU and EEA under a common rulebook.

Companies that obtained MiCA licenses can continue offering crypto services across the bloc under the regulation’s provisions. Providers without authorization face options such as withdrawing services from the EU or submitting applications in member states still accepting dossiers. National timelines and regulatory capacity affected the distribution and timing of approvals during the final phase of the transition.