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Spain CNMV Rules Out MiCA Licence Extensions for Crypto Firms
Spain's market watchdog will not extend the deadline for crypto firms to secure MiCA licences, chair Carlos San Basilio said. Binance and other major platforms face a hard stop.
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Spain's market watchdog will not extend or waive the deadline for crypto firms that fail to secure licences under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, its chair Carlos San Basilio said Friday.
San Basilio was asked about major platforms, including Binance, that do not yet hold a MiCA licence in Spain. The regulator, the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores, expects all firms serving Spanish clients to comply by the deadline, he said. No grace period is planned.
The statement closes one of the last remaining questions around MiCA implementation in a major EU market. Spain is the bloc's fourth-largest economy and a significant hub for crypto retail activity. Binance operates in Spain under a temporary registration with the Bank of Spain. It has not yet secured a full MiCA licence from the CNMV. Other large exchanges face the same gap.
MiCA took full effect across the EU in December 2024. National competent authorities, including the CNMV, are responsible for licensing crypto-asset service providers in their jurisdictions. Firms that miss the deadline face enforcement action, including potential orders to cease operations in Spain.
San Basilio's comments came during a press conference on the CNMV's 2025 supervisory priorities. He did not name specific firms beyond the question about Binance. The regulator has approved a handful of MiCA licences so far, mostly for smaller domestic players. The pace of approvals has been slow, a pattern repeated across several EU member states.