The European crypto licensing market is now entering its first serious test under MiCA. For several years, many crypto-asset service providers operated under national registration regimes, transitional arrangements, or offshore models that were commercially effective but not equivalent to full prudential supervision. That period is ending.
MiCA’s CASP provisions took full effect on 30 December 2024. The EU-wide transitional window under Article 143(3) runs until 1 July 2026, after which any CASP without a full authorisation must cease operations or face enforcement.
The question is no longer whether Europe has a crypto rulebook. It does. The more relevant question is who can actually pass through it.
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Cyprus Is the Canary in the Coal Mine
From the standpoint of regulatory compliance, the answer is becoming clearer: the successful cohort increasingly looks like firms that already understand regulated financial services. In Cyprus, this is particularly visible. The first wave of authorised CASPs includes a meaningful number of groups with existing broker, investment firm, or financial services infrastructure. Based on matters we see in the market, the current public number of authorised CySEC CASPs should not be read as the final shape of the market. Several applications are still progressing close to the 1 July 2026 transition deadline, and it would not be surprising if the authorised population increases materially, or even doubles, after that cut-off.
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As of February 2026, over 40 CASPs were fully authorised under MiCA across all EU member states, with the Netherlands, Germany, and Malta leading in issuances. CySEC set a hard internal filing deadline of 27 February 2026 – existing CASPs that missed it lost their transitional cover and had to submit a wind-down plan. Those that filed in time are still in review and can continue operating under national rules until CySEC decides their application or the 1 July 2026 deadline arrives.
List of MiCA license holders under CySEC
That is not because regulators are lowering the bar. It is because the applicants still standing tend to be the ones that can evidence governance, substance, capital, operational resilience, AML controls, client asset arrangements, outsourcing oversight, complaints handling, and senior management accountability in a way that resembles regulated finance rather than early-stage crypto entrepreneurship.
This is the filter regulators are applying in 2026.
A crypto-native applicant may have strong technology, liquidity, product design, and user acquisition. But those are not enough. Regulators want to see who controls the firm, who makes decisions, where the mind and management sit, whether compliance has authority, whether the business model is properly documented, whether client assets can be protected, whether outsourcing is controlled, whether financial promotions are fair, and whether the firm can survive operational stress without harming clients.
This is where broker-flavoured applicants often have an advantage. CFD and investment firms have spent years operating under MiFID-style expectations: board oversight, policies and procedures, capital monitoring, complaints processes, reporting lines, fit-and-proper assessments, AML frameworks, and regulatory engagement. They may not automatically understand crypto, but they understand supervision. In MiCA, that matters.
Article 60: The MiFID Perimeter Becomes a Strategic Asset
Article 60 of MiCA has accelerated this convergence. It allows certain already-regulated financial entities, including investment firms, to provide crypto-asset services that are equivalent to the investment services and activities for which they are authorised, subject to notification to the competent authority. In practical terms, this has made the MiFID perimeter strategically more valuable. For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
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For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
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For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
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For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their existing compliance frameworks.
For existing CFD and investment firms, this means opportunities to expand into crypto services while leveraging their年