Kraken has moved to the top of the EU's MiCA-licensed exchange rankings after the regulation took full effect across the bloc on July 1, 2026. Data from DefiLlama's MiCA exchange tracker shows Kraken holding $399.71 million in spot liquidity and $206.90 million in perpetual liquidity, the highest figures among licensed venues in the region.
Coinbase ranks second with $305.23 million in spot liquidity and $167.39 million in perpetual liquidity. Crypto.com follows with $130.84 million in spot liquidity, while Bitstamp and Bybit stand at $54.62 million and $50.19 million. Among smaller exchanges, OKX, Gate, and Backpack report spot liquidity of $11.92 million, $6.94 million, and $5.43 million.
Kraken also holds a wide lead in market coverage
Liquidity is only part of the shift. Kraken supports 1,704 markets, well ahead of Coinbase at 1,074 and Crypto.com at 883. In perpetuals, Backpack and OKX report liquidity of $41.19 million and $20.54 million.
The transition has not been smooth for every platform. AscendEX said it stopped operations on July 1, 2026, pointing to MiCA-related regulatory pressure along with market and operational factors. New account registration, deposits, trading, staking, and lending have been frozen, with only limited withdrawals still available for existing users. That has turned compliance risk into an immediate issue for users on platforms that are not fully aligned with MiCA requirements.
The European Commission is already reviewing whether MiCA should go further
Less than a week after the grace period ended, the European Commission opened a stakeholder feedback process running through September 30. The review asks whether MiCA's scope should be widened to include tokenized securities and non-EU stablecoin issuers, two areas that were only lightly covered in the original framework.
The timing matches rapid growth in on-chain tokenized assets. RWA.xyz puts the value of tokenized stocks on-chain at about $2.16 billion, up nearly 45% in one month. At present, those instruments fall under existing EU securities law rather than MiCA itself. Euronews reported that an EU diplomat said reopening the file "seems unavoidable" as pressure builds from institutions including the European Central Bank.
Under the current MiCA structure, stablecoins are split into two main categories: e-money tokens, or EMTs, which are pegged to a single currency, and asset-referenced tokens, or ARTs, which are tied to baskets of assets. EMTs face reserve and yield rules, while ARTs are subject to tighter capital and liquidity requirements under direct oversight from the European Banking Authority.
ESMA turns to custody, private keys, and operational controls
At the same time, the European Securities and Markets Authority has launched its first Common Supervisory Action since MiCA's full rollout. The focus is digital operational resilience in custody services provided by licensed crypto-asset service providers, or CASPs.
National regulators will carry out risk-based inspections covering governance, private key and storage management, transaction controls, incident response, smart contract risk, and third-party dependencies. The review runs from the second half of 2026 to the first half of 2027, and the findings will be consolidated for ESMA's Board of Supervisors. As of the July grandfathering deadline, only 244 firms held CASP authorization under MiCA, giving added weight to the current liquidity rankings.
Three dates stand out for the market: the September 30 close of the Commission's feedback window, the ESMA custody review that runs into mid-2027, and any exchange licensing updates as smaller platforms respond to compliance costs. MiCA is no longer just a framework on paper; it is already reshaping where liquidity sits in the EU crypto market.