EU MiCA Transition Ends as CASP Licensing Tiers Redraw the Compliance Map for Crypto Exchanges
The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA, has now moved into full enforcement for crypto-asset service providers after the CASP transition period ended on July 1. In practice, platforms that have not secured the relevant authorization are, in principle, no longer allowed to continue offering services to users in the EU. The shift marks a major dividing line for exchanges, brokers, custodians and transfer providers operating across Europe.
Under MiCA, CASP authorization is not a single all-purpose exchange license. Instead, regulated activities are divided into 10 service categories, labeled a through j, covering custody, trading platform operation, fiat-to-crypto exchange, crypto-to-crypto exchange, order execution, placement, order transmission, investment advice, portfolio management and transfer services. Minimum capital requirements are then grouped into Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3, depending on the services provided.
According to the ESMA update cited in the source article, 279 entities have obtained MiCA CASP authorization, but only 18 currently hold the key b-category authorization required to operate a crypto trading platform. Firms such as OKX, Kraken and Bitstamp appear in the Class 3 group, while many other major brands, including Coinbase, Bybit, Crypto.com and Gemini, are listed mainly under Class 2. Several large global platforms, including Binance and Bitget, do not yet appear in the public ESMA authorization table referenced by the article.
