What MiCA covers
MiCA defines a crypto-asset as a digital representation of a value or of a right that can be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology (Article 3). The regulation sorts crypto-assets into three kinds, and regulates the firms that serve them.
- E-money tokens, which reference one official currency (Title IV).
- Asset-referenced tokens, which reference another value or right, or a combination, including several currencies (Title III).
- Other crypto-assets, utility tokens among them: a white paper and rules on marketing (Title II).
- Crypto-asset service providers: authorisation and operating conditions (Title V).
- Market abuse: insider dealing and market manipulation (Title VI).
What MiCA leaves out
MiCA does not apply to crypto-assets that are unique and not fungible with other crypto-assets. It also leaves out crypto-assets that qualify as financial instruments or deposits, and funds other than e-money tokens (Article 2). Anti-money laundering duties and the Travel Rule sit in other EU laws.
MiCA's dates, and why they matter
Titles III and IV applied from 30 June 2024 and the rest from 30 December 2024 (Article 149). Firms already providing crypto-asset services under national law could continue until 1 July 2026 at the latest, and that transitional period has ended (Article 143).
Trading platforms have until 31 December 2027 to ensure that a white paper exists, where MiCA requires one, for crypto-assets admitted to trading before 30 December 2024.
A product that only accepts a stablecoin still needs to know what kind of token it is. An e-money token may be offered to the public in the EU only by its issuer, which has to be a credit institution or an e-money institution, or with the issuer's written consent (Article 48).
MiCA, MiFID II or the Transfer of Funds Regulation?
- MiFID II
- The EU's law on financial instruments. A crypto-asset that qualifies as one, such as a tokenised share or bond, falls under MiFID II and outside MiCA.
- Transfer of Funds Regulation
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, which carries the Travel Rule for crypto-asset transfers. MiCA authorises the provider, and this regulation governs the data sent with each transfer.
Where MiCA shows up in a platform
Modules that do the work
- Custody & walletsWallets on every major chain, with MPC custody from leading providers or your own keys.
- Compliance reportingTransaction monitoring, the Travel Rule and regulatory reports, ready for your regulator.
- KYC / AMLIdentity checks, screening and ongoing monitoring, with the verification provider you choose.
- Matching engineA low-latency order book for spot markets, with market makers and outside liquidity.
Platforms that need it
Guides that go deeper
- MiCA checklist: launching a crypto exchange in the EUWhat the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation asks of an exchange: authorisation, capital, governance, client assets, the trading platform rules, and the laws that sit beside it.
- Stablecoin payments for EU merchants: MiCA, USDC and the Travel RuleWhat a stablecoin checkout for EU merchants needs: MiCA and payment licences, why USDC and not USDT, Travel Rule checks on self-hosted wallets, euro settlement and refunds.
- What a crypto exchange licence costs: fees and capital by regulatorThe application fee, the yearly fee and the capital a crypto exchange needs under MiCA, the FCA, VARA, ADGM and the DFSA, as each regulator publishes them, and when each falls due.
Where it is written
The laws and standards this page's facts come from.
General information, not legal advice: what applies to you depends on your services and your market.