Ripple secures full MiCA license for crypto services across Europe

Ripple secures full MiCA license for crypto services across Europe

The Luxembourg approval completes the company's MiCA licensing process, enabling it to provide regulated crypto-asset services across the European Economic Area.

Source: Cassie Craddock

Ripple's approval follows the end of the European Union's MiCA transition period on July 1, when crypto companies were required to obtain authorization or cease offering regulated services in the bloc. The framework allows authorized companies to generally passport regulated crypto services throughout the EEA under a single license.

On Friday, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published an updated register listing 280 licensed crypto-asset service providers. The total rose from 243 a week earlier after 37 companies, including Standard Chartered, FalconX and Sygnum Europe, were added.

Not every company secured MiCA authorization before the deadline. Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, withdrew its MiCA application in Greece ahead of the July 1 transition and said it would pursue authorization in another member state while taking steps to comply with the bloc's new rules.

The bloc has now entered MiCA's enforcement phase, with unauthorized crypto companies expected to wind down operations or face penalties. While ESMA coordinates supervision and maintains the bloc's register of authorized crypto companies, day-to-day enforcement is carried out by national regulators, meaning implementation is likely to vary across member states.

Belgium's Financial Services and Markets Authority has already begun applying the new rules. On Monday, the regulator identified six crypto-asset service providers it said were operating without authorization and added them to its list of unauthorized crypto-asset service providers.

Source: FSMA

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