KuCoin gains MiCA approval in Austria, though Malta remains off-limits

The authorization, announced on November 28, 2025, means KuCoin joins a small group of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) operating under the EU’s unified MiCA framework, which is now fully in force for exchanges and service providers. Licensed in Austria, KuCoin EU can passport its services throughout most of the EEA once operational, from its hub in Vienna.

KuCoin said the license is being obtained via its local entity KuCoin EU, which is supervised by Austria’s Financial Market Authority (FMA). The firm framed the approval as a key milestone in its long-term “trust and compliance” strategy, describing MiCA as one of the highest regulatory bars for crypto service providers globally.

The decision to anchor its EU operations in Austria follows a process that began in February 2025, when KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH filed its MiCA application with the Austrian regulator and announced plans to base an EU hub in Vienna. At the time, the exchange said it wanted to use that hub to offer fully compliant crypto services across the EEA once MiCA was fully implemented.

In earlier statements about its strategy, KuCoin highlighted Austria’s early implementation of MiCA-related laws, a comparatively stable regulatory environment and what it called a strong local talent pool as reasons for choosing the country as its European base. With today’s approval, the exchange now sits alongside five other CASPs that have obtained MiCA licenses from the FMA: Amina Bank, Bitpanda, Bybit, Cryptonow and FIOR Digital.

Under MiCA, a CASP licensed in one EU or EEA state can “passport” its authorization across the rest of the single market, as long as it meets ongoing prudential, conduct and disclosure requirements. The framework, which became fully applicable to exchanges and other service providers in late 2024, is designed to replace the previous patchwork of national virtual asset service provider regimes with a single set of rules. 

However, KuCoin’s license will not extend to Malta. The company confirmed that its MiCA authorization covers 29 EEA countries, specifically excluding Malta, and had not provided further detail on the reasons at the time of publication. The omission is notable because Malta has issued MiCA licenses to other players, including Blockchain.com and Gemini, and has taken a different stance to some member states in debates over how tightly MiCA supervision should be centralized at the EU level.

KuCoin’s approval comes against a broader backdrop in which relatively few large global exchanges have yet completed the MiCA licensing process, even though many submitted applications in early 2025. Industry observers see Austria, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg among the more active jurisdictions in issuing early CASP licenses under the regime.

For users, a MiCA license means KuCoin EU will operate under harmonized EU rules on capital requirements, asset segregation, governance, market abuse controls and disclosure of crypto-asset risks, subject to supervision by the Austrian FMA and cooperating regulators in other EEA states. The exchange says this is intended to support “secure, innovative and accessible” digital-asset services while it expands in the European market.

Readers who want a closer look at how KuCoin performs for everyday traders can dive into our detailed KuCoin spot trading review and its Binance vs. KuCoin comparison in our dedicated section, which assess fees, liquidity, tools and user experience under real trading conditions.