MiCA CASP register: how to check if a crypto firm is authorised
26 October 2026 · Business blog · MiCA, registers
To check whether a crypto firm may serve clients in the EU, find it in ESMA’s interim MiCA register and in the register of its home-state regulator. ESMA publishes the register as CSV files updated weekly: one file for authorised crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), one for entities that provide crypto-asset services without authorisation. The national register shows the same authorisation at its source, often with more detail. ESMA warns that new information can take time to reach its files, so a firm that is missing from ESMA’s list is checked in the national register before any conclusion.
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We check the firm in the ESMA and national registers, compare the authorised services and countries with what the firm offers you, and put the result in writing. Consultation: 30 minutes online — €100; written opinion — from €200.
Order a written check · from €200 How the MiCA CASP licence works →Where to check a MiCA crypto-asset service provider
Five registers answer most questions about a crypto firm that serves European or UK clients. The first is EU-wide; the others are kept by the regulators we work with most often.
| Register | Kept by | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Interim MiCA register | ESMA, under Articles 109 and 110 of MiCA | Authorised CASPs and financial entities that notified crypto-asset services, white papers, issuers of asset-referenced and e-money tokens, non-compliant entities. CSV files, updated weekly |
| Crypto-asset service providers | Finantsinspektsioon, Estonia | Providers authorised in Estonia and a separate list of cross-border providers notified to Estonia |
| Financial Services Register | MFSA, Malta | Firms licensed and regulated by the MFSA, including crypto-asset service providers |
| Financial market participants | Bank of Lithuania | Licensed market participants, filterable by type, including crypto-asset service providers |
| Financial Services Register | FCA, United Kingdom | Firms the FCA authorises or registers, including cryptoasset businesses registered under the Money Laundering Regulations. The UK is outside MiCA |
Sources: ESMA, MiCA page and interim register; Finantsinspektsioon list; MFSA Financial Services Register; Bank of Lithuania, financial market participants; Bank of Lithuania, end of the transitional period on 31 December 2025; ESMA list of transitional periods; FCA Financial Services Register.
How to check a crypto firm in three steps
- Identify the legal entity. Brand names and websites change; the register is kept by legal name and LEI (Legal Entity Identifier). Take both from the contract, the terms of service or the website footer.
- Search ESMA’s CASP file. Download the CASP file from ESMA’s MiCA page and search it by name or LEI. Read the record as described below.
- Confirm at the home regulator. Open the register of the competent authority named in the record and compare the services and countries with what the firm offers you. Then search ESMA’s file of non-compliant entities for the same name and website.
How to read an ESMA register record
- Competent authority and home member state — the regulator that authorised the firm or received its notification, and its country.
- Legal basis. «Article 63» marks a CASP authorisation. «Article 60» marks a financial entity already regulated under other EU law, such as a bank or an investment firm, that notified its regulator before providing crypto-asset services.
- Service codes a–j. The ten services of Article 3(1)(16) of MiCA, from (a) custody and administration and (b) operating a trading platform through exchange, execution, placing, reception and transmission of orders, advice and portfolio management to (j) transfer services. The authorisation covers the services listed in the record.
- Countries. The member states where the firm may provide those services, either from its home state or by passport.
- End date. When an authorisation is withdrawn, ESMA keeps the record and adds the date the withdrawal took effect.
What the register showed on 26 October 2026
We downloaded ESMA’s CASP file and the file of non-compliant entities on 26 October 2026 and counted the records by home member state. The CASP file includes both Article 63 authorisations and Article 60 notifications.
| Home member state | Records in the CASP file |
|---|---|
| Germany | 117 |
| France | 36 |
| Netherlands | 29 |
| Cyprus | 25 |
| Malta | 23 |
| Spain | 16 |
| Lithuania | 6 |
| Estonia | 3 |
| All member states | 387 |
The file of non-compliant entities held 178 records on the same date, 169 of them reported by the Italian authority. In Germany 109 of the 117 records are Article 60 notifications by banks and other financial entities. Many records from other states leave the legal basis column empty, so read the authority and the service codes alongside it. For Estonia the three records are Lightyear Europe AS, AS LHV Pank and Lightspark Payments Europe AS; our guide to the Estonian crypto licence register explains what changed there on 1 July 2026.
Old national registrations: VASP and VFA
Before MiCA each country ran its own register: VASP licences in Estonia and Lithuania, VFA licences in Malta. Those regimes continued only for the transitional period under Article 143(3) of MiCA, which ended on 31 December 2025 in Lithuania and on 1 July 2026 in Estonia and Malta. A firm whose documents show only a VASP or VFA number has a status that ended on those dates. Ask for the MiCA authorisation and check it in the registers above. Country detail: crypto licence in Estonia, crypto licence in Malta, crypto licence in Lithuania.
UK firms: the FCA register
The United Kingdom is outside MiCA. A UK cryptoasset business registered with the FCA under the Money Laundering Regulations appears on the FCA’s Financial Services Register. The FCA expects its new regime for cryptoasset firms to start on 25 October 2027; the application window runs from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027. What the FCA assesses and how to file: UK crypto licence.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official list of MiCA-licensed crypto companies?
Yes. ESMA keeps the interim MiCA register under Article 109 of MiCA. Authorised crypto-asset service providers are in its CASP file, published as CSV on ESMA’s MiCA page and updated weekly.
How often is ESMA’s MiCA register updated?
ESMA publishes the latest version of the files at weekly intervals. Information from national authorities can take time to appear, so check the home regulator’s register as well.
What does Article 60 mean in the register?
Article 60 of MiCA lets financial entities already authorised under other EU law, such as banks and investment firms, provide crypto-asset services after notifying their regulator. Their records carry «Article 60»; firms authorised as CASPs carry «Article 63».
What if a crypto firm is missing from the register?
Search by LEI and by legal name, then check the national register of the country where the firm says it is authorised. Check ESMA’s list of non-compliant entities too. A firm without a MiCA authorisation may not solicit clients in the EU.
Does a MiCA authorisation cover the United Kingdom?
No. The UK runs its own regime: check UK firms on the FCA Financial Services Register. The FCA expects its new regime for cryptoasset firms to start on 25 October 2027.
A written register check for your deal
Send the company name, LEI if you have it, and what you plan to do with the firm. We check the registers, the authorised services and countries, and any old VASP or VFA status. Written opinion — from €200; consultation, 30 minutes online — €100.
Order a written check · from €200 Crypto licences by market →Reviewed: 26 October 2026, against ESMA’s MiCA page and interim register files, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA), the registers of Finantsinspektsioon, the MFSA, the Bank of Lithuania and the FCA, and the FCA page on the new cryptoasset regime.