EU Approves 53 Crypto Firms Under MiCA, Leaving Binance and Tether Behind

Highlights:

• Fifty-three crypto firms gain full approval under the EU’s MiCA regulation.
• Tether and Binance failed to meet compliance and missed licensing.
• MiCA licenses enable cross-border services in 30 European nations.

The European Union has granted regulatory approval to 53 crypto companies to operate under its single MiCA regulation. These licenses enable companies to provide crypto services to all 30 countries covered in the European Economic Area.

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The MiCA framework, which fully became effective on December 30, 2024, allows companies to passport their services. This implies that a single license can now be used instead of individual licenses in the EU countries. The format eliminates the source of jurisdictional friction and lowers regulatory overhead on licensed entities.

According to a July 7 update published on X by Patrick Hansen, some of the significant license winners are the major platforms such as Coinbase, Kraken, Robinhood, and BBVA. These companies, among others, have now been legally cleared to offer service to European clients in a similar manner. Furthermore, the transition indicates an increasing trend of regulatory collaboration in member states to align in the control of digital assets.

𝐌𝐢𝐂𝐀 6-𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐬 & 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨-𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 🇪🇺

6 months into MiCA’s application for CASPs — and 12 months for stablecoins — here’s… pic.twitter.com/5mZwOg30qq

— Patrick Hansen (@paddi_hansen) July 7, 2025

Stablecoin Issuers Approved, But Key Players Are Absent

Out of all the 53 crypto companies that have received such approval, 14 are licensed stablecoin issuers who are now authorized to issue fiat-backed tokens. These are well-established brands such as Circle, Stablemint, and Societe Generale-Forge, which are present in seven countries across the EU. They have tokens that are largely euro- or dollar-pegged and provide digitally based forms of local currencies.

Together, those issuers have issued 20 fiat-backed stablecoins in compliance with MiCA. Twelve of them are tied to the euro, with seven pegged to the U.S. dollar. A single token is secured by the Czech koruna, signifying variety in the stablecoin industry of the region. Notably, the bulk of the activity remains focused on the euro.

The issuer of USDT, Tether, has not been approved yet. Several exchanges, such as Coinbase and Crypto.com have delisted the firm due to the failure to reach MiCA requirements relating to transparency and audit criteria. Although Tether still uses attestations to validate the reserves, the lack of an independent audit represents one of the major obstacles regarding EU compliance. Even though the company has been promising a complete audit, none has yet occurred. This is still a serious obstacle to the transparency and governance requirements of MiCA. Until these problems are addressed, the ability of Tether to enter the EU market is limited.

Regulatory Pressures Challenge Top Crypto Firms

Whereas other crypto companies were jubilating over the approval, the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, was also among the unlicensed companies. In Europe, Binance has been under increased regulatory pressure. Consequently, this led to withdrawals or halts in application in multiple EU markets like Germany, the Netherlands, and Cyprus in 2023 and early 2024.

Moreover, the French government has been conducting investigations against Binance following claims against them pertaining to money laundering. The company also made structural changes to reduce exposure to stablecoins that have no regulatory oversight and have risky trading functionalities. Furthermore, its new executive positions in Europe are set to facilitate compliance but have not delivered on the approval of MiCA.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will issue the next update in September. This nine-month checkpoint will reveal whether more crypto firms have joined the MiCA list or if gaps remain.

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