The Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) deadline has shut and from today (1 July), those who have obtained a licence can scale their operations across Europe, while those who have not face missing out on a burgeoning crypto market.
The deadline to operate in Europe’s crypto asset market has closed today (1 July), requiring all companies to operate with a full license to comply with the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework.
As of today, companies that do not have a full MiCA license will be deemed to be operating in Europe illegally and will be subject to penalties consisting of monetary fines, halting of operations and even criminal action.
MiCA was brought into effect in June 2023 after the European Parliament’s approval. The regulatory framework came one year after two high-profile crypto collapses, FTX and TerraLabs, which resulted in a significant market decline and billions of dollars of investor funds lost.
The phased rollout of MiCA saw stablecoin rules introduced in June 2024 and then followed by a full rollout in December 2024, with a 30 June transitional deadline set mandating all companies intending to offer crypto asset, stablecoin and digital asset services to acquire a full license.
Speaking to Payment Expert, Derek Corcoran, CEO of Confirmo Limited (Ireland), a MiCA-complaint company, says the framework will bring forth new competitive opportunities for regulated companies in a bid to enhance crypto and stablecoin payment services.
“This is the day the European crypto market has been counting down to,” says Corcoran. “MiCA’s grandfathering window has closed, so from today, there are two kinds of crypto payment providers in Europe: those that are fully regulated and licensed, and those that can no longer serve European customers.
“The market will now consolidate around the providers that took compliance seriously as quality of regulation becomes a genuine competitive advantage. Compliance teams will ask harder questions of their payment partners and the answers will matter more than before.”
Which crypto firms have a MiCA licence?
There are over 200 crypto asset service providers (CASPs) that have secured a full MiCA licence with its local European regulator and issued by the European Markets and Securities Authority (ESMA).
Of the MiCA compliant CASPs, Bitstamp and Coinbase secured their licences in Luxembourg, Kraken is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, Bitpanda and Bybit secured their licenses in Austria, and Crypto.com and OKX received full authorisation in Malta.
These are some of the largest crypto exchanges in the world and have gained full access to provide its services, such as staking, payments, etc., across all 27 European Economic Area (EEA) countries via European passporting rights.
MiCA-compliant companies must now adhere to the regulations of its local regulator, such as the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) which enforces the regulatory framework.
CASPs are required to adhere to specific capital requirements:
- €50,000 in crypto advice, portfolios, reception and transmission of orders
- €125,000 in client, crypto-to-crypto, crypto-to-fiat holdings
- €150,000 in custody and administration holdings for operating a platform
CASPs are also expected to adhere to the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) framework. This requires customer due diligence, such as Know Your Customer (KYC), checks, screening of international sanctions, filing of suspicious transaction reports, and operating a transaction monitoring system.
The European Union’s (EUs) crypto-tax reporting framework will also expect CASPs to report transactions and revenues of EU customers to local tax authorities.
Authorised companies are also expected to carry out a ‘fit and proper test’ of its personnel. This includes a rigorous assessment of board members, major shareholders and other management into compliance teams to exemplify clean criminal records and experience in handling risk management of crypto assets.
Ultimately, a MiCA licence affords companies like Coinbase, Kraken and Crypto.com full scalability and access to up to 24 million European crypto owners, according to the European Central Bank (ECB).
Marcos Viriato, CEO and Co-Founder of Parfin, tells Payment Expert the companies that prioritise MiCA and its regulations as a strategy will also be the one to scale across Europe.
“A license doesn’t create adoption. It creates the conditions for adoption,” says Viriato. “The real challenge now is ensuring that digital assets, stablecoins, and tokenised deposits can move seamlessly across institutions, networks, and jurisdictions.
“The firms that treated regulation as a strategic priority early on are now in a much stronger position to scale across Europe. Compliance has become a competitive advantage – and that gap will only widen.
“The next phase of the market will be defined by interoperability, settlement and how different forms of digital money work together in practice. That’s where adoption will be won or lost.”
Which crypto firms do not have a MiCA licence?
While several low-profile companies are expected to be blocked from operating in Europe, Binance is unquestionably the largest platform that will now have to begin to wind down its operations in the region.
Binance has failed to secure a full MiCA licence after its application was not approved despite its local regulator, Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC), confirming it was compliant with regulatory guidelines.
While confirming it “remains committed” to obtaining a licence in another EU jurisdiction, Binance told European customers on 26 June it will be suspending some of its services that are not compliant with MiCA’s framework.
In a statement released today via its X account, Binance stated it is “working hard behind the scenes to engage closely with regulators and deliver the best possible path forward for our users”.
“Your assets remain safe on Binance, held on a 1:1 basis, and affected users will continue to have access to the options already communicated to them, including transfers and withdrawals where applicable.”
Despite not receiving a full MiCA licence, Ripple is in the final stages of securing one as it has been granted a ‘green light letter’. This means that Ripple must demonstrate final specific technical, financial, or organisational requirements which are allowed past the 1 July deadline.
Companies can still apply for a full MiCA licence if they have yet to acquire one, but are not allowed to offer its crypto asset services while its application is under review.
Anthony Yeung, Chief Commercial Officer at Coincover, believes “regulation alone will not determine success” and tells Payment Expert policymakers should place less emphasis on companies’ internal operations and more so on wider blockchain security mechanisms.
“MiCA was designed to bring clarity to Europe’s digital asset market, but its rollout has shown just how difficult it is to implement a major regulatory framework, with some firms looking to exit the EU altogether instead of complying,” says Yeung.
“But regulation alone will not determine success. Trust and transparency are the foundation of any digital asset ecosystem. If policymakers want consumers and institutions to participate with confidence, they must look beyond exchanges and custodians and recognise the wider infrastructure that protects people when things go wrong.”
