MiCA List
Regulation (EU) 2023/1114

Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA)

Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 — the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, known as MiCA — creates the first comprehensive, directly applicable legal framework for crypto-asset markets across the European Union. It replaces a patchwork of national rules with uniform requirements covering the issuance and public offering of crypto-assets, their admission to trading, and the professional provision of crypto-asset services throughout the 27 EU Member States and the wider European Economic Area.

Section 1

Overview

MiCA brings crypto-assets that fall outside existing EU financial services legislation — notably Bitcoin-like crypto-assets, stablecoins and utility tokens — under a single, directly applicable EU rulebook. It defines who may issue them, how they must be presented to the public, and which firms may provide professional services in relation to them, harmonising rules that until now diverged sharply between Member States.

Section 2

Legal basis and objectives

Adopted under Article 114 TFEU, MiCA pursues four explicit policy objectives: legal certainty and support for innovation, financial stability and market integrity, robust consumer and investor protection, and a level playing field for crypto-asset service providers. Together with the DLT Pilot Regime (Regulation (EU) 2022/858) and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA, Regulation (EU) 2022/2554), MiCA forms the core of the European Union's Digital Finance package.

Section 3

Scope and exclusions

MiCA applies to natural and legal persons engaged in the issuance, offering to the public or admission to trading of crypto-assets, and to crypto-asset service providers operating in the Union. It does not apply to crypto-assets that already qualify as financial instruments, deposits, structured deposits, securitisation positions, insurance products or pension schemes under existing EU law. Genuinely unique and non-fungible NFTs, central bank digital currencies and crypto-assets used purely within closed networks are also excluded.

Section 4

Three categories of crypto-assets

MiCA distinguishes three categories: asset-referenced tokens (ARTs), which aim to maintain a stable value by referencing several official currencies, assets or rights; e-money tokens (EMTs), which reference the value of a single official currency and are treated as electronic money; and other crypto-assets, a residual category that includes utility tokens. Each category triggers a distinct set of issuer obligations, disclosure requirements and supervisory expectations.

Section 5

Crypto-asset services and CASPs

A crypto-asset service provider (CASP) is any legal person whose occupation or business is the professional provision of one or more of the ten crypto-asset services defined in MiCA. CASPs must be authorised by the national competent authority of their home Member State, satisfy capital and organisational requirements, and comply with ongoing conduct, transparency and prudential obligations.

Article 3(1)(16) of MiCA enumerates ten regulated crypto-asset services. Authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) is granted on a service-by-service basis and may cover one or several of the following activities:

  • a
    Custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients
    Safekeeping and management of crypto-assets or of the means of access to them on behalf of third parties.
  • b
    Operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets
    Managing a multilateral system that brings together third-party buying and selling interests in crypto-assets.
  • c
    Exchange of crypto-assets for funds
    Concluding purchase or sale contracts with clients for crypto-assets against funds, using proprietary capital.
  • d
    Exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets
    Concluding purchase or sale contracts with clients for crypto-assets against other crypto-assets, using proprietary capital.
  • e
    Execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients
    Concluding agreements to buy or sell one or more crypto-assets, or to subscribe to them, on behalf of clients.
  • f
    Placing of crypto-assets
    Marketing newly issued crypto-assets, or crypto-assets already issued but not yet admitted to trading, to specified purchasers.
  • g
    Reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients
    Receiving from a client an order to buy or sell crypto-assets and transmitting it to a third party for execution.
  • h
    Providing advice on crypto-assets
    Offering, giving or agreeing to give personalised recommendations to a client in respect of one or more transactions in crypto-assets.
  • i
    Providing portfolio management on crypto-assets
    Managing portfolios in accordance with mandates given by clients on a discretionary client-by-client basis, where those portfolios include crypto-assets.
  • j
    Providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients
    Providing services of transfer of crypto-assets from one distributed ledger address or account to another, on behalf of a natural or legal person.
Section 6

Authorisation procedure

Applicants submit a comprehensive dossier to their national competent authority covering programme of operations, governance arrangements, internal controls, ICT and cyber-security, prudential safeguards, anti-money-laundering controls and shareholder suitability. The authority has 25 working days to confirm completeness and a further 40 working days (extendable) to grant or refuse authorisation. EU-authorised credit institutions, central securities depositories and certain MiFID investment firms benefit from a streamlined notification procedure.

Section 7

EU passport

A single MiCA authorisation entitles a CASP to provide its authorised services throughout the entire European Economic Area — across all 27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — on a freedom-to-provide-services basis or through a branch, without seeking separate licences in each country. Issuers of asset-referenced and e-money tokens benefit from equivalent EU-wide passporting rights.

Section 8

Stablecoin issuer requirements

Issuers of ARTs and EMTs face strict prudential obligations: full reserves of liquid assets fully backing the tokens in circulation, segregated custody, daily reconciliation, transparent reserve composition, a right of redemption at par for holders, robust governance, recovery and redemption plans. Tokens classified by the European Banking Authority as 'significant' are subject to enhanced supervision and additional capital, liquidity, interoperability and reporting requirements.

Section 9

Crypto-asset white papers

Before offering a crypto-asset to the public or seeking its admission to trading, issuers must publish a crypto-asset white paper containing fair, clear and non-misleading information about the project, the issuer, the rights and obligations attached to the token, the underlying technology and the principal risks. White papers for ARTs and EMTs require prior approval by the competent authority; white papers for other crypto-assets must be notified, with the authority retaining the power to suspend or prohibit the offer.

Section 10

Conduct, market abuse and consumer protection

CASPs must act honestly, fairly and professionally in the best interests of clients. MiCA imposes safekeeping rules for client funds and crypto-assets, complaint-handling procedures, conflict-of-interest policies, outsourcing rules and pre- and post-trade transparency for trading platforms. Title VI prohibits insider dealing, the unlawful disclosure of inside information and market manipulation in relation to crypto-assets, mirroring the regime applicable to traditional financial instruments.

Section 11

Supervision and registers

Day-to-day supervision is carried out by the national competent authority of each Member State. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) coordinates supervisory convergence, maintains a Union-wide public register of authorised CASPs, ART and EMT issuers and notified white papers, and directly supervises significant ART and EMT issuers jointly with the European Banking Authority (EBA). ESMA may issue temporary intervention measures and binding mediation between national supervisors.

Section 12

Timeline of application

MiCA was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 9 June 2023 and entered into force twenty days later. Its substantive provisions apply in stages, with full application reached at the end of 2024 and transitional arrangements running until 2026.

Key milestones in the rollout of MiCA across the European Union and the European Economic Area:

9 June 2023
Published in the Official Journal of the European Union
29 June 2023
Entry into force
30 June 2024
Titles III and IV apply — rules for asset-referenced and e-money tokens
30 December 2024
Full application — Titles I, II, V, VI and VII (CASPs and remaining provisions)
1 July 2026
End of the maximum 18-month transitional regime for pre-existing service providers
Section 13

Transitional regime

Crypto-asset service providers that were lawfully providing services under national law before 30 December 2024 may continue to do so under that national regime until 1 July 2026, or until they are granted or refused MiCA authorisation, whichever is sooner. Member States were free to shorten this 18-month transitional window; the actual cut-off date therefore varies between national jurisdictions.

Section 14

Sanctions and enforcement

National competent authorities have broad investigatory powers and may impose administrative penalties including public warnings, withdrawal of authorisation, bans on management functions and pecuniary sanctions up to the higher of EUR 5 million for natural persons, EUR 15 million for legal persons, or a percentage of annual turnover. Serious breaches may also give rise to criminal liability under national law.

Glossary

MiCA Glossary: Key Terms and Definitions

Concise definitions of the most important MiCA terms, drawn from Regulation (EU) 2023/1114.

MiCA
Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on Markets in Crypto-Assets — the EU framework that harmonises rules for crypto-asset issuance, public offers, admission to trading and crypto-asset services across all Member States.
Crypto-asset
A digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically, using distributed ledger technology or similar technology (Article 3(1)(5)).
CASP — Crypto-Asset Service Provider
A legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is providing one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, authorised under Article 59 MiCA.
ART — Asset-Referenced Token
A type of crypto-asset that aims to maintain a stable value by referencing any other value or right, or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies (Article 3(1)(6)).
EMT — E-Money Token
A type of crypto-asset that aims to maintain a stable value by referencing the value of one official currency; issuance is reserved to credit institutions and electronic money institutions (Article 3(1)(7)).
Significant ART / EMT
An ART or EMT classified as significant by the EBA based on size, complexity and interconnectedness criteria in Articles 43 and 56; significant tokens are supervised directly by the EBA.
Utility token
A type of crypto-asset that is only intended to provide access to a good or a service supplied by its issuer (Article 3(1)(9)).
White paper
The mandatory disclosure document for the public offer or admission to trading of a crypto-asset, prepared under Articles 6, 19 and 51 MiCA and notified to the competent authority.
NCA — National Competent Authority
The Member State authority designated under Article 93 MiCA to authorise and supervise CASPs and issuers within its jurisdiction.
ESMA
European Securities and Markets Authority — coordinates supervision, maintains the public register of CASPs and issuers, and develops technical standards under MiCA.
EBA
European Banking Authority — directly supervises significant ARTs and EMTs and issues guidelines on prudential and governance requirements.
Passporting
The right of an authorised CASP or token issuer to provide services or market a token in any other EU Member State after a notification procedure (Articles 65 and 21).
Reverse solicitation
Narrow exemption allowing a non-EU firm to serve an EU client only when the client initiated the service at their own exclusive initiative; cannot be used to market or solicit clients in the EU.
Own funds (Annex IV)
Permanent minimum capital that a CASP must hold: EUR 50,000 (Class 1), EUR 125,000 (Class 2 — custody), or EUR 150,000 (Class 3 — trading platform), and at all times at least one quarter of the previous year's fixed overheads.
Market abuse (Title VI)
Prohibitions on insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of inside information and market manipulation in crypto-assets admitted to trading, modelled on MAR.
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