MiCA after the deadline: which crypto exchanges hold a licence in Europe, and what changes for buyers
Since 1 July 2026 only authorised providers may serve clients in the EU. On 26 October 17 of the 100 largest exchanges held a MiCA licence, Binance did not. What the rules change for people who buy crypto.
Europe now has a single licence for crypto exchanges, and the grace period is over. The transitional period of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) ended on 1 July 2026, eighteen months after its rules for crypto-asset service providers, or CASPs, started to apply on 30 December 2024. Since that date a firm that wants to offer trading, exchange or custody of crypto to clients in the European Union and the wider EEA needs an authorisation from a national regulator, recorded in the interim register kept by ESMA, the EU securities authority.
There was no extension. In a statement relayed by the French AMF on 23 June 2026, ESMA said that unauthorised providers had to have an orderly wind-down plan in place by 1 July, for example moving client assets to an authorised CASP or to a wallet controlled by the client, and that authorised firms may not outsource key services such as custody to unauthorised ones.
The final weeks brought a wave of approvals. In the last days of the transition the ESMA register listed 244 authorised CASPs across the EU and EEA, Cointelegraph reported on 1 July 2026. France counted 31 authorised firms and Italy eight, while Greece had not yet issued any MiCA licence.
Among the large exchanges the picture is concentrated. According to CASP Tracker, an independent site that checks the ESMA register, on 26 October 2026 17 of the world's 100 largest exchanges held a MiCA licence, six of them in the top ten. In Malta the MFSA has authorised OKX, Gate, Crypto.com and Gemini. In Austria the FMA has authorised Bybit, KuCoin, BingX and WhiteBIT. In Luxembourg the CSSF has authorised Coinbase, Bitstamp and bitFlyer. Kraken is licensed by the Central Bank of Ireland, Bitvavo by the Dutch AFM, Bit2Me by Spain's CNMV, Bullish by Germany's BaFin, Backpack by the Bank of Latvia and Tothemoon by Cyprus's CySEC.
The largest exchange by volume is not on the list. Binance withdrew its MiCA application in Greece on 24 June 2026 and said it would seek authorisation in another member state, The Block reported. Since 1 July it has restricted services for users in the EEA, according to CASP Tracker, which also lists Bitget as having an application under review. The other 83 exchanges of the top 100 had no MiCA licence on 26 October.
A MiCA licence works as a passport. A CASP authorised in one member state can serve clients in all the others after notifying its regulator. In exchange it must meet common rules set out in Regulation (EU) 2023/1114: minimum capital, governance and fitness checks for managers, segregation of client crypto from the firm's own assets, custody duties, complaint handling, rules on conflicts of interest and a ban on market abuse. Tokens offered to the public need a white paper.
For people who buy crypto, the first change is a check that did not exist before: is the platform in the ESMA register, and under which legal entity? The AMF warned on 23 June 2026 that MiCA protections apply only to the authorised EU entity, not to affiliates of the same group based outside the Union, and that the reverse solicitation exemption, which lets a foreign firm serve a client who approached it on their own initiative, is narrow.
The second change concerns stablecoins. MiCA rules for stablecoins, called e-money tokens when they track a single currency, have applied since 30 June 2024. Circle obtained an electronic money institution licence in France and announced on 1 July 2024 that USDC and EURC were issued in line with MiCA. On 17 January 2025 ESMA and the European Commission asked CASPs to stop offering non-compliant stablecoins by the end of the first quarter of 2025. As a result, the main licensed platforms no longer list Tether's USDT for trading by EEA clients, while USDC remains available.
The third change is the travel rule. Under Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, in force since 30 December 2024, every crypto transfer between providers carries the name and account details of sender and beneficiary, with no minimum amount. For transfers above 1,000 euros to or from a self-hosted wallet, the provider must verify that the wallet belongs to its client.
Why it matters: MiCA does not make crypto less volatile, but it gives European buyers a public register to check, common rules on custody and a clearer view of who holds their assets. It also changes the stablecoin map, with USDC easier to use than USDT on European platforms.
Unicorn Club, the members-only club of Unicorn Private for pre-IPO club deals, accepts BTC, ETH, USDT and USDC on ERC-20, sent from an exchange account or a self-hosted wallet. The guide How to invest in pre-IPO companies with crypto explains the steps. This article is general information, not personalised advice. Investing involves the risk of losing capital.
Sources
- ESMA, interim MiCA register of crypto-asset service providers, consulted 27 October 2026
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA), 31 May 2023
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 on information accompanying transfers of funds and crypto-assets, 31 May 2023
- AMF, End of the MiCA transitional period: ESMA sets out its expectations and warns retail investors, 23 June 2026
- Cointelegraph, New licenses issued in the EU as the MiCA grace period ends, 1 July 2026
- CASP Tracker, MiCA licences of the 100 largest crypto exchanges, checked against the ESMA register on 26 October 2026
- The Block, Binance withdraws its MiCA application in Greece, 24 June 2026
- ESMA and European Commission, guidance on non-MiCA compliant ARTs and EMTs, 17 January 2025
- Circle, Circle is first global stablecoin issuer to comply with MiCA, 1 July 2024
- Unicorn Club, How to invest in pre-IPO companies with crypto