The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has announced plans to conduct both on-site inspections and off-site reviews of authorized crypto asset service providers, with the checks scheduled across the second half of 2026 and the first half of 2027. Institutions selected for sampling will include those providing digital asset custody services. The effort is part of the 2026 common supervisory action coordinated by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). According to CySEC, the inspections will assess institutional governance and control frameworks, key and storage management, private key security, wallet storage and access controls. The scope also covers trading controls, monitoring and incident response, smart contract security and third-party risk management. CySEC noted that the relevant standards are mandatory, and that each institution's compliance readiness will be used as a basis for determining which entities are selected for subsequent inspections. Specific institutions and the total number of service providers to be examined have not been disclosed.

As MiCA’s transition period closes, German crypto users are comparing exchanges by licensed entity, custody setup, and product access. BISON, Kraken, Coinbase, and Bitpanda each serve a different use case.

Europe’s MiCA regime has tightened exchange access rules. The source says Binance failed to secure the required authorization before the deadline, pushing EU users to review alternatives including Kraken, Coinbase, OKX, and Crypto.com.

The EU's MiCA stablecoin transition period ended on July 1, pushing regulated platforms in Europe to remove USDT after Tether declined to seek EMT authorization. Revolut users can no longer buy the token, with a full delisting reportedly set for August 31.

The number of MiCA-licensed crypto service providers in the EU reached 281, with 37 new additions. Standard Chartered, FalconX, and CACEIS joined the roster. Germany leads with 58 licenses, while Cyprus added the most in this round. No asset-referenced token issuers have been approved yet.

Eightcap has launched more than 250 crypto derivatives on MT4 and MT5, highlighting low spreads, fast withdrawals, and multiple funding options as it expands its regulated crypto CFD offering.

As of March 2026, the EU MiCA framework has authorized 174 crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), yet only 14 are permitted to operate a centralized exchange. Analysis reveals Germany leads with 51 registrations (mostly traditional banks), while Malta and Cyprus host major exchange operators.

Despite 174 MiCA authorizations across the EU, only 14 entities are licensed to operate a centralized crypto exchange. This article breaks down service code distribution, jurisdictional clustering, and strategic lessons for founders navigating the MiCA landscape.