Overview
- The EU’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets transition ends on July 1, 2026, and regulators say any crypto firm operating without a MiCA authorisation after that date must stop serving EU clients and carry out orderly wind‑downs.
- Only a small share of pre‑MiCA operators have secured authorisation so far, with law firm counts at roughly 194 licences versus thousands of previously registered firms, leaving estimates that about 75% could lose the right to operate.
- June 16 reporting by Reuters and other outlets said Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission is poised to reject Binance’s MiCA application, a claim that Binance disputes by saying the HCMC found the filing compliant and that no formal rejection has been issued.
- Customers on unlicensed platforms may face blocked deposits, forced withdrawals, re‑verification or transfers to licensed providers, and national supervisors such as France’s AMF have warned of criminal penalties and blacklists for firms that ignore the deadline.
- The enforcement push and uneven national approval pace threaten to concentrate EU crypto trading with well‑capitalised, authorised firms, raise passporting disputes across member states, and spur an EU review of MiCA’s technical gaps such as stablecoin and DeFi rules.