The MiCA law, one year later: opening the door to banks and tighter oversight of digital currencies

On December 30, 2024, the well-known MiCA regulation — Markets in Crypto-Assets — came into force. A regulatory framework that put the European Union at the forefront of crypto rules and has had a major impact on the market. However, many questions remain: what exactly does it regulate? and what impact has it had after a year in force?

The objectives of the regulatory framework are simple: provide legal certainty for digital currencies; protect investors; ensure stability and integrity and promote innovation. Of course, to translate these aims into something tangible, the EU had to be specific and roll out a set of rules that have curtailed some practices and encouraged others.

Primarily, the regulation set requirements for so-called stablecoins — stable currencies pegged to the euro or the dollar — and for the platforms that offer these crypto assets. These platforms, the Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) — such as exchanges, custodians (enterprise/ custody wallets) and brokers — must obtain authorization (a “MiCA license” or an “EU passport”) to operate within the EU.

Before diving into the regulation and examining, point by point, what is affected and how, it’s worth noting that, for now, in many countries the regulation is in a transitional period until mid-2026 to give platforms more flexibility to adapt and obtain the much-sought “MiCA license” in time.

To better understand the regulation — what it seeks to achieve and its impact — it’s best to look at each main point in turn. The thing is, not everything came into force at the same time. In fact, the first provisions to take effect were those related to stablecoin regulation, which led to the ban on Tether (the world’s largest stablecoin) in the EU.

Stablecoins: This part took effect in June 2024 and distinguishes stablecoins from asset-referenced tokens. For the former, issuers are required to maintain liquid, segregated reserves managed by regulated entities. It’s not just about transparency — it’s also about liquidity: if a stablecoin faces a large-scale withdrawal, it must hold a sufficient amount of liquid assets. In fact, MiCA requires 65% of reserves to be held in cash.

MiCA License: The MiCA license introduces major changes for crypto-sector players as well as for investor protection. To begin with, this European passport means that exchanges or crypto-asset service providers only need a single authorization to operate across all 27 EU member states, instead of having to register country by country.

This license must be obtained by exchanges, custodians, brokers and crypto advisers alike. The goal is to demonstrate that the company is solvent, secure and trustworthy. To achieve this, they must meet minimum capital requirements, maintain reserve funds, employ staff with proven industry experience, have a registered office in an EU member state, present a business plan, implement strong cybersecurity protections, and comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (KYC) rules. They must also segregate client assets if they offer custody services, ensuring that even if the company fails, client funds remain protected. 

It’s a process that can take several months, which is why many leading companies in the sector are now announcing that they’ve secured the license, without which they wouldn’t be able to operate. For example, BBVA was one of the first major banks to obtain it.

Although MiCA is a major step forward for the European Union in creating a safer environment for participants in the crypto market, there are several notable exclusions. MiCA does not regulate NFTs (non-fungible tokens) or DeFi (Decentralised Finance). For this reason, it’s possible that new developments will continue to emerge in 2026 and beyond to provide further regulatory clarity.

By mid-2025, only 53 MiCA licenses had been granted, which forced smaller companies to be absorbed by larger players, while others had to restructure or exit the European market. The most positive aspect of this regulation is that, precisely because of its strict requirements and investor protections, it has attracted major financial institutions. For example, BBVA and Commerzbank have obtained authorizations related to crypto (custody and brokerage), leveraging MiCA to integrate digital assets into their core services, along with other investment entities such as Baader Bank.

In short, although MiCA is not a comprehensive regulation for the crypto market, it represents a significant step forward in providing regulatory clarity and opening the door to investment in a new asset class that could shape the future economy, thanks to powerful blockchain technology.

MiCA is still, in some areas, in a transitional phase. However, work is already underway in Brussels on the next version of the regulation. This second iteration aims to address programmability and decentralization. It will cover smart contracts as well as DeFi, ensuring these areas do not end up as regulatory gaps within the Eurozone’s financial ecosystem.