Answers Regulation & licensing

What is MiCA authorisation?

Updated August 1, 2026 · Zion Labs EU

Answer

MiCA is Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, the EU's uniform framework for crypto-assets not already covered by EU financial services law. Authorisation under it means a national competent authority in one member state has approved a firm to issue asset-referenced or e-money tokens, or to provide crypto-asset services as a CASP, after which it can passport those services across the EU. It is already in force, not forthcoming: the rules for asset-referenced and e-money tokens have applied since 30 June 2024 and the rest since 30 December 2024. Transitional arrangements for firms already operating under national law run to 1 July 2026 at the latest, and individual member states were free to close theirs sooner.

Nuances and considerations

  • Two different authorisations sit under one name. Issuing asset-referenced or e-money tokens is one regime; providing crypto-asset services — custody, operating a trading platform, exchange, order execution, advice — as a CASP is another. A firm saying it is “MiCA authorised” has one of them, for a defined scope of services. Ask which.
  • The passport is the point. Once authorised in one member state, a CASP can operate across the EU under the MiCA passport, subject to notifying its home authority which services it will provide where. That is a genuine single-market change and the main commercial reason firms pursue authorisation.
  • E-money token issuers face a higher bar. Under MiCA they must be authorised as a credit institution or an electronic money institution — it is not a licence a firm obtains from a standing start.
  • Supervision is split. National competent authorities authorise and supervise; the EBA classifies significant asset-referenced and e-money tokens and takes over supervision when the criteria are met; ESMA holds powers alongside national authorities.
  • The transitional deadline is not a single EU-wide date. The regulation set an outer limit of 1 July 2026, but member states could shorten their own window. If you are checking whether a firm is authorised, check the register of the member state it is operating from, on the date you are checking.
  • What MiCA does not cover: crypto-assets already regulated by other EU financial services legislation, central banks and the ECB, and crypto-assets that are unique and not fungible. Nor does authorisation mean insurance or a solvency guarantee — it means disclosure, governance, prudential and conduct requirements are being supervised.
  • This is an EU regime. A MiCA-authorised firm is not licensed in the US or the UK by virtue of that authorisation.

Sources

  1. European crypto-assets regulation (MiCA) — summary of EU legislation — EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union Supports: The regulation number and title; the three categories (e-money tokens, asset-referenced tokens, other crypto-assets); authorisation requirements for issuers and CASPs; EBA and ESMA supervisory roles; the 30 June 2024 and 30 December 2024 application dates; and the exclusions, including assets covered by other EU financial services law and unique, non-fungible assets.
  2. Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) — European Securities and Markets Authority Supports: That MiCA institutes uniform EU market rules for crypto-assets, and that member states could adopt optional transitional measures allowing firms operating under national law before 30 December 2024 to continue until 1 July 2026 or until authorisation is granted or refused.
  3. Application of Second Part of MiCA — Regulation of CASPs and Other Public Offering of Crypto Assets — Dechert LLP Supports: That from 30 December 2024 crypto-asset services can only be provided in the EU by an authorised CASP; that the transitional period runs to 1 July 2026 unless the relevant member state decided to reduce it; and that an authorised CASP can operate across the EU under a MiCA passport.

Most English-language answers about MiCA were written while it was still forthcoming, and are still phrased in the future tense.