MiCA licence: CASP, EMT & ART — the European crypto framework
MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114) is the EU's single rulebook for crypto-asset infrastructure. It is the clearest example of Fintechnologica's thesis: European regulation as a European advantage. Below: what the licence types mean, the timeline, and the verified European providers that hold them.
The three things MiCA authorises
- CASP — Crypto-Asset Service Provider. Authorisation to provide crypto services: custody, operation of a trading platform, exchange of crypto for funds or other crypto, execution, transfer, portfolio management and advice. Granted by a national competent authority and passportable across the whole EEA.
- EMT — E-Money Token (euro stablecoins). A token that references a single fiat currency. Under MiCA an EMT may only be issued by an authorised credit institution or Electronic Money Institution (EMI). This is the category behind regulated euro stablecoins.
- ART — Asset-Referenced Token. A token referencing a basket of assets/currencies. Higher capital and prudential requirements; the rarest category.
Timeline — and why this is on the clock
- 30 June 2024 — the stablecoin rules (EMT / ART, MiCA Titles III–IV) began to apply.
- 30 December 2024 — the CASP regime (Title V) began to apply; new authorisations started being granted.
- 1 July 2026 — the end of the national transitional ("grandfathering") period. After this date a MiCA authorisation is mandatory to serve EU clients; firms without one must stop.
ESMA maintains the public register of authorised CASPs and notified white papers; the European Banking Authority (EBA) oversees EMT/ART issuers. National regulators — BaFin (Germany), AMF/ACPR (France), CSSF (Luxembourg), MFSA (Malta), DNB/AFM (Netherlands), FIN-FSA (Finland), Central Bank of Ireland, FME (Iceland), CySEC (Cyprus) — grant the licences locally and they passport EEA-wide.
Why MiCA is a sovereignty story
For European decision-makers, MiCA does two things at once. It gives crypto infrastructure a single, passportable EEA licence instead of 27 national regimes. And it enables a class of regulated euro stablecoins — a European, GDPR-aligned alternative to US-controlled stablecoins such as USDC and USDT, whose issuers sit under the US CLOUD Act. Fintechnologica flags both the licence and where the issuer's data and lineage actually sit.
How Fintechnologica flags MiCA
Providers that hold a MiCA authorisation carry a MiCA badge with their type — CASP or EMT (stablecoin) — verified at source against the relevant register, not a marketing claim. Some European crypto infrastructure is provided by software vendors (custody / tokenization technology) whose bank or CASP clients hold the licence, and some by Swiss firms under FINMA (European, but outside the EEA). We separate these so you can judge sovereignty for your own requirements.
Verified European euro-stablecoin (EMT) issuers
EURCV (Société Générale-FORGE), EUROe (Membrane Finance), EURe (Monerium), EURQ (Quantoz), EURR (StablR), EURØP (Schuman Financial) and EURI (Banking Circle).
Verified European crypto custody & CASP infrastructure
Boerse Stuttgart Digital, Tangany, Hauck Aufhäuser Digital Custody, Clearstream, Bitpanda, Zodia Custody and Striga — plus Swiss infrastructure (Taurus, Sygnum, AMINA, Bitcoin Suisse) and tokenization platforms (Tokeny, 21X, Ledger).
The licence family
EMI licence — e-money and the safeguarding regime · Payment institution (PI) — payments without stored value · Banking licence — deposits, credit and the EUR 100k guarantee · EMI vs BYOL — umbrella or your own authorisation.