MiCA register shows late crypto licence rush before EU deadline

European regulators approved dozens of crypto firms in the final days before the EU's MiCA transition period closed, according to the latest ESMA register data.

The register shows 36 crypto-asset service provider authorizations dated between June 23 and July 1. 66 authorizations were recorded in June alone. The pace picked up near the deadline. 13 authorizations appeared on June 30, one day before the transition ended, and one more came on July 1.

ESMA had warned that unauthorized providers serving EU clients should stop onboarding new customers and begin winding down regulated activities after the deadline.

Germany holds the most licensed CASPs with 59. France has 31 authorizations, the Netherlands 28, Malta 22, and Cyprus 21. The data shows MiCA licenses remain concentrated in a handful of jurisdictions, even though the regulation creates a passporting framework that lets a firm licensed in one EEA state operate across all 30 countries.

The register also reveals that not all licenses cover the same activities. Only 17 firms received authorization to operate a crypto trading platform. Custody and transfer services permissions are far more common. Many firms hold narrower authorization slots such as order execution or crypto-to-fiat exchange.

That profile matters for traders. A licensed provider may only offer wallet services, not order execution. The distinction affects where to route trades and how to assess counterparty risk. The 17 trading platform authorizations represent a small slice of the register's 283 records.

The rush to authorize comes as some market participants question whether MiCA's framework needs revision. Read our earlier analysis: Why MiCA 2.0 Is Already Too Late for Europe's Crypto Market.