MiCA Register Reveals Approved Crypto Service Providers and Stablecoin Issuers

The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation has created the first broad, cross-border rulebook for digital assets in a major global jurisdiction. Since its provisions began taking effect, crypto businesses operating in the bloc have faced a new requirement: services involving crypto-assets must be offered through authorized entities, while issuers of certain stablecoins must meet strict standards on reserves, governance and consumer protection.

The resulting compliance landscape is often described through two separate groups: crypto-asset service providers, or CASPs, and issuers of asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens. Although the two categories overlap in the wider digital-asset market, they are regulated under different MiCA requirements and are recorded through different supervisory channels.

A CASP may provide services such as custody, operating a trading platform, exchanging crypto-assets for funds or other tokens, executing orders, placing tokens, receiving and transmitting orders, or providing advice and portfolio management. Firms seeking to offer those services across the European Economic Area must generally obtain authorization from the relevant national authority. Once approved, an entity can use the MiCA passporting system to operate in other member states, subject to notification and compliance requirements.

The authorization process is designed to test more than a company’s technology. Regulators examine governance structures, capital and prudential safeguards, cybersecurity controls, complaints procedures, conflicts-of-interest policies and the way customer assets are protected. Applicants are also expected to demonstrate that senior managers are fit to perform their roles and that the business has sufficient systems to identify and manage operational risks.

National authorities remain responsible for licensing most CASPs, which means approvals are distributed across the European Union rather than issued by a single central regulator. The authority handling an application depends on the firm’s home member state. The European Securities and Markets Authority maintains a central register to improve transparency and help consumers, investors and market participants identify authorized firms, entities operating under transitional arrangements and businesses that may be subject to warnings.

That register is the most reliable source for any current compliance watchlist. It can change as applications are approved, permissions are withdrawn, firms merge, businesses surrender licenses or regulators update information. A company’s presence in a commercial directory, exchange listing or marketing announcement does not by itself establish that it is authorized under MiCA.

Stablecoin oversight is built around a separate distinction. MiCA classifies tokens intended to maintain a stable value by referencing one official currency as e-money tokens, commonly known as EMTs. Tokens that seek to maintain value by referencing a combination of currencies, commodities, crypto-assets or other assets are generally treated as asset-referenced tokens, or ARTs.

The rules for issuers are particularly demanding. An issuer of an EMT must generally be authorized as a credit institution or electronic-money institution, while ART issuers must meet their own authorization and disclosure obligations unless a specific exemption applies. Issuers are expected to publish a white paper, maintain adequate reserves, provide redemption rights where required and maintain governance arrangements capable of managing the risks associated with the token.

The framework also places limits on how reserves are handled. Assets backing a stablecoin must be safeguarded and managed in a way intended to support holders’ redemption rights. Issuers must provide clear information about the token, its stabilization mechanism, associated risks and the rights available to customers. The objective is to reduce the possibility that holders discover, during a period of market stress, that a token’s reserves are inaccessible, insufficient or exposed to excessive risk.

Several well-known companies have sought to align their European operations with these requirements. Circle has positioned its euro- and dollar-denominated stablecoins around European compliance through its regulated European structure. Société Générale-FORGE, the digital-asset arm of the French banking group, has also developed euro-denominated token products within the regulated financial system. Other issuers and financial institutions have pursued authorization or partnerships through national regulators, meaning the status of individual products must be checked against the official register rather than inferred from branding or previous regulatory approvals.

An important complication is that MiCA does not treat every crypto-asset business in the same way. Some firms may continue operating under transitional arrangements established by individual member states, while others may be required to stop serving European customers if they do not obtain authorization. The length and application of those transition periods can differ by jurisdiction. A company therefore may appear to be active in Europe without yet holding a full MiCA license.

Stablecoins face additional scrutiny when they become widely used. MiCA gives regulators tools to classify certain tokens as significant, bringing enhanced supervision and potentially more demanding obligations. The framework also addresses the use of stablecoins as a means of payment and includes provisions aimed at preventing widespread tokens from creating broader financial-stability risks.

For customers, the practical lesson is that compliance should be checked at the level of the legal entity and the specific service. A platform may hold authorization for custody but not for every activity it advertises. A regulated issuer may offer one compliant token while other products remain outside the same approval. Similarly, a firm authorized in one member state may rely on passporting, but its status and permitted services should still be confirmed in the relevant European registers.

MiCA has not eliminated risk from the digital-asset market, nor does authorization guarantee that a token will retain its value. It does, however, establish a formal baseline for licensing, disclosures, reserves and consumer safeguards. As regulators continue updating their registers, the approved list of CASPs and stablecoin issuers should be treated as a live compliance record rather than a permanent directory.