The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has added 57 firms to the MiCA register, bringing the total number of licensed crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) in the EU to 300. According to latest reports, this represents the first major licensing wave since MiCA's transitional period closed on July 1, 2026. The timing reflects the deadline scramble as grandfathered firms that missed the deadline can no longer serve EU clients under national rules. The previous tally as of June 26 stood at 243 firms, meaning the register jumped by 57 authorized entities in roughly a week following the July 1 deadline. As reported by TradingView News, the update published Friday added 57 licensed crypto-asset service providers to the bloc's formal oversight list, with the European Securities and Markets Authority publishing its first update to the EU crypto company register after the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation transitional period ended Wednesday.
The MiCA transition period ended on July 1, closing the European market to firms without a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) license, resulting in a dramatic market contraction. James Harris, CEO of MiCA-authorized asset manager Tesseract, revealed that Europe once counted around 2,700 registered Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), but ESMA's register held just over 200 CASPs when the panel met, representing a roughly 90% attrition rate. Harris estimated that running a CASP is 10 to 15 times harder than operating as a VASP, explaining why compliance-focused firms survived while others failed. Ryan Miller, head of APAC at market maker Wincent, argued that firms treating compliance as a core business priority were the ones that made it through the deadline. The enforcement phase now begins as licensed firms remain exposed while offshore rivals continue serving European users without equivalent obligations. Harris warned that "this will all be a waste of time if the regulators then don't come and step in and write cease and desist letters to organizations that are offering non-compliant versions of what we're effectively competing against."
Standard Chartered secured both a MiCA authorization and an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license through Standard Chartered Luxembourg S.A., as reported by TradingView News. The bank opened this Luxembourg entity in 2025 to bring its digital asset custody business into the EU. The authorization arrived on June 25, 2026 from Luxembourg's financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), meaning the bank can now operate across EU member states under a single regulatory passport. The EMI license allows holders to issue electronic money and provide payment services. Margaret Harwood-Jones, the bank's global head of financing, called the MiCA and EMI licenses a key step in progressing our digital asset journey in Europe. The bank said the approvals build on recent milestones, including the launch of digital asset custody services in Asia and the Middle East, and support growing client demand for regulated access to digital assets in Europe. For large financial institutions, the appeal of MiCA is not only legal clarity but also creates a single regulatory route that can support institutional custody, settlement, token services, and payment-linked digital asset products across a large regional market. The combined approvals give Standard Chartered a broader European base for regulated digital asset activity.
The new additions span both traditional and crypto-native sectors, according to TradingView News reports. FalconX, the institutional crypto trading firm, received authorization from Malta's financial regulator, the MFSA, shortly before the July 1 deadline. Other notable additions include Sygnum Europe, the digital asset bank that has been quietly building a regulated presence across Europe, along with Ronin EM and CACEIS, the asset servicing arm of Credit Agricole and Santander. CACEIS was added to the electronic money token (EMT) register, a unit of Crédit Agricole. The MiCA transition period had already redrawn parts of the market before the register caught up, with most visibly Tether's EU delistings handing stablecoin ground to Circle. The newly listed firms include Standard Chartered, digital asset prime brokerage FalconX, Sygnum Europe, and Ronin EM. The electronic money token register also added Crédit Agricole's CACEIS, widening the list of institutions now operating under the EU's regulated digital asset structure. Separately, crypto.news reports that CACEIS is in exclusive talks to acquire French crypto investment platform Meria, a deal that would add a retail crypto business with about 150,000 users and roughly €350 million in assets under management.
By country, Cyprus recorded the most new approvals with six, followed by France, Italy and Malta each adding five. The Czech Republic and Spain added four apiece, while Luxembourg accounted for three, the Netherlands two, and Germany, Liechtenstein and Latvia one each. On a cumulative basis, Germany's BaFin remained the EU authority with the most MiCA authorizations at 58, as reported by TradingView News. The approvals bring the total number of MiCA authorizations granted by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) to 21. The spread of approvals shows how MiCA is being implemented through national regulators while feeding into a shared EU register. That structure gives firms some choice in where they seek approval, but it also creates reputational differences between jurisdictions based on speed, supervisory depth, and market specialization. Vyara Savova, senior policy lead at the European Ethereum Institute, sees the market concentrating around larger players, noting "there is a visible consolidation and I think the market will definitely go through the maturity that we have all been talking about for a while." The coming months will reveal whether national authorities act against non-compliant providers, with the European Commission's consultation on the MiCA review extending the response deadline from August 31 to September 30.
