ESMA adds 14 crypto firms to MiCA register as licensing pace slows

The European Securities and Markets Authority added 14 crypto companies to its MiCA register on Thursday, bringing the total number of licensed crypto-asset service providers to 294 as the pace of approvals slowed after an initial post-deadline surge.

"The MiCA framework is creating a unified regulatory environment that traditional financial institutions are increasingly engaging with," an ESMA official said in the register update. The new entries include Ripple Payments Europe, the European payments arm of blockchain company Ripple, as well as Portugal-based Bison Bank and Croatia's state-owned Hrvatska poštanska banka.

The update follows ESMA's previous register expansion on July 3, when the regulator added 37 CASPs in the first major post-deadline update after MiCA's transitional period ended. The latest additions also include two German cooperative banks — Volksbank Schwarzwald-Donau-Neckar and Raiffeisenbank Auerbach-Freihung — and Liechtenstein-based Kaiser Partner Privatbank, expanding the presence of private banking groups offering regulated crypto services under MiCA.

The MiCA framework, which took full effect on July 1, allows authorized firms to offer services across all 27 EU member states under a single license rather than navigating separate national requirements. The register now counts dozens of traditional finance institutions, including Spain's BBVA and CaixaBank, Germany's Commerzbank, France's CACEIS Bank and Standard Chartered Luxembourg.

Banks deepen MiCA presence

The entry of traditional banks into the MiCA register signals a structural shift in Europe's crypto market. ESMA reported no changes to its registers for electronic money tokens, which count 21 unique issuers, while the asset-referenced tokens register continued to list no approved issuers. The regulator also added two entities — Reversal Investment Group and Kortex — to its non-compliant list following actions by Italy's securities regulator CONSOB, bringing the total number of entries on that list to 164, including crypto exchange MEXC.

The licensing activity comes as crypto firms race to secure MiCA authorization before national transitional periods expire. BitPay secured approval from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets on July 16, while Ripple obtained full CASP authorization in Luxembourg earlier this month. Coinbase has established Luxembourg as its European regulatory hub. Some firms, including Binance, have scaled back licensing efforts in certain EU markets after the transition period ended.

The expansion of the MiCA register reflects Europe's push to create a structured regulatory environment for digital assets, potentially attracting more institutional participation as compliance requirements become clearer across the bloc.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.