EU Crypto Market Under MiCA – April 2026 Status Report

The MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation came into full effect at the end of 2024, establishing the first-ever comprehensive European regulatory framework for the crypto-asset market. Over a year after the launch of ESMA registers, the MiCA SCAN platform – aggregating data from official European registers – enables detailed analysis of the pace of implementation. This report presents the current market picture based on data from April 2026.

1. Market in numbers

These figures show a clear dominance of the service sector (CASP) over the issuance sector. The complete absence of any registered ART issuer – a reference token linked to a basket of assets – suggests that this category of instruments remains the most difficult to implement under the MiCA regime.

Category	Count
Licensed crypto-asset service providers (CASP)	199
Countries with registered CASPs	23
EMT (e-money token) issuers	20
ART (asset-referenced token) issuers	0
Other crypto-assets with published white papers	519

2. Geographic distribution of CASPs

CASP licensing in Europe is highly concentrated in a few key jurisdictions.

Country	Number of CASPs
🇩🇪 Germany	53
🇳🇱 Netherlands	25
🇫🇷 France	13
🇳🇴 Norway	13
🇲🇹 Malta	12
🇪🇸 Spain	11
🇱🇹 Lithuania	10
🇦🇹 Austria	9
Other 15 countries	53

Germany leads decisively with 53 licensed entities, accounting for over 26% of all CASPs in the EU. This stems from a mature financial market, a strong institutional base, and BaFin's prior regulatory experience with crypto-assets.

3. Crypto-asset services – what do CASPs offer?

MiCA defines a catalog of services that licensed providers may offer. The most commonly offered services are:

Service	Number of providers
Custody and administration of crypto-assets	117
Exchange of crypto for fiat currency	100
Exchange of crypto for crypto	96
Execution of orders on behalf of clients	94
Reception and transmission of orders	84
Advice on crypto-assets	53
Placing of crypto-assets	51
Transfer of crypto-assets	50
Portfolio management of crypto-assets	46
Operating a trading platform	46

Custody – holding and administering crypto-assets – is by far the most popular service, offered by 117 out of 199 CASPs (59%).

4. Passporting – cross-border freedom

One of the key advantages of a MiCA license is the ability to provide services across the entire EU/EEA through passporting. Data from MiCA SCAN shows that: • 171 out of 199 CASPs (86%) have cross-border operating rights • Only 28 entities operate exclusively in their domestic market

This confirms that the vast majority of crypto-asset firms treat a MiCA license as a passport to the entire European market, not merely a local regulatory requirement.

5. EMT and ART tokens

EMT (E-Money Tokens)

20 EMT issuers have been registered – crypto-assets pegged to a single fiat currency (e.g. EUR). This segment is developing steadily, though significantly slower than the CASP market.

ART (Asset-Referenced Tokens)

The absence of any registered ART issuer is one of the most telling statistics in this report. ART tokens – linked to a basket of assets or currencies – are subject to the strictest capital and operational requirements under MiCA. Reserve requirements, governance, and stress test obligations create an exceptionally high barrier to entry.

Other crypto-assets

The ESMA register lists 519 crypto-assets with published white papers that are not classified as EMT or ART. These include utility tokens and other instruments subject to notification obligations.

6. Growth dynamics

The pace of licensing new CASPs has clearly accelerated in early 2026:

Month	New CASP licenses
February 2026	13
March 2026	10
April 2026 (to 12.04)	2

This growth reflects the maturation of regulatory processes in individual countries and the increasing readiness of firms to formally enter the market under the new regime.

7. Conclusions and outlook

1. Germany dominates

With over ¼ of all licensed CASPs, Germany is solidifying its position as the leader of the European crypto-asset market.

2. Passporting is the standard

86% of CASPs use cross-border capabilities, proving that MiCA is effectively creating a single market.

3. ART remains a challenge

Zero ART issuers signals that regulatory requirements may be too restrictive or that the market doesn't yet see a business case for this type of token.

4. EMT is growing slowly

20 issuers is a moderate result, but this segment has growth potential as stablecoins become more popular in payments.

5. The market is accelerating

The rising number of new licenses in 2026 points to a continuation of the growth trend.

8. About MiCA SCAN

MiCA SCAN is an independent platform monitoring the implementation of the MiCA regulation in Europe. It aggregates data from official ESMA registers and national competent authorities (NCAs) from 8 countries, providing a comprehensive overview of licensed entities, tokens, and crypto-asset services in the EU/EEA. Data is updated automatically and available in 7 languages. The platform also provides an /llms.txt endpoint for AI system integration.

Source: micascan.eu – Data based on ESMA registers and national supervisory authorities, as of 12 April 2026.