Germany leads EU MiCA crypto licensing with 57 providers ahead of July 1
In brief
- Germany leads with 57 MiCA-authorized crypto providers, representing 23% of 244 total EU/EEA licenses
- France approved 26 providers (11%), including five in the final week before July 1 deadline
- Five EU states—Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania—issued zero MiCA licenses
- Italy dominates ESMA's non-compliant register with 160 of 162 entries as of June 26
- MiCA takes effect July 1, 2026, establishing a unified European crypto market framework
The licensing leaders
Germany's 57 MiCA-authorized providers represent roughly a quarter of all approvals. France follows with 26 companies, or roughly 11% of all approvals, placing it alongside the Netherlands as the bloc's second-largest hub for MiCA licensing.
The concentration isn't accidental. Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Ireland collectively accounted for around 72% of financial assets and liabilities of financial corporations in the EU as of 2024. These jurisdictions already held regulatory infrastructure and market depth—advantages that translated into faster MiCA adoption.
Last-minute activity tells a revealing story. France issued five CASP approvals between June 18 and June 22, the most during that window. In total, 11 approvals were issued across EU and EEA jurisdictions during the period, with Malta following France with two authorizations. France's authorizations include CASPs such as Bpifrance Investissement, RCUBE Asset Management, Paymium, Leonod and Meria.
The fragmented picture
Implementation remains uneven. Five EU member states—Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and Romania—have not issued any MiCA licenses as of June 26. The reasons vary. Binance applied for authorization in Greece but later withdrew its application, shifting its licensing plans to another MiCA jurisdiction. Poland is also notable, with delays in MiCA implementation legislation followed by three reported presidential vetoes, leaving the country without an active licensing framework.
Non-compliance paints an even starker picture. Italy dominated ESMA's non-compliant CASP register as of June 26, accounting for 160 out of 162 entries. The Netherlands and Slovakia each recorded one non-compliant CASP entry, linked to MEXC and LWEX respectively.
"The pattern suggests that although MiCA is designed to create a single European crypto market, implementation remains fragmented across national regulators ahead of the July 1 transitional deadline." — Cointelegraph analysis
The disparity between early-movers like Germany and laggards like Poland signals a regulatory transition period likely to stretch well beyond July 1. Crypto platforms will need to navigate vastly different approval timelines and compliance costs across jurisdictions, even as MiCA's framework aims to unify the market.
