Crypto firms face July 1 EU cutoff as MiCA grace period ends

The EU’s MiCA transition period ends on July 1, and from that point crypto asset service providers operating under national regimes need a MiCA licence or they stop serving EU clients. For PSPs and crypto businesses, the practical message is simple: an application in progress is not the same thing as authorization.

1. ESMA told Cointelegraph that from July 1, non-authorized entities “will not be allowed to operate within the EU” and should put wind-down and client migration plans in place instead of relying on open-ended transitional status while waiting for a decision.
2. The deadline could force some firms to suspend EU operations while applications remain under review, which matters because these platforms still serve millions of users. In other words, the regulatory clock can outrun the licensing queue.
3. France has authorized 19 crypto asset service providers (CASPs) so far, with roughly 25 applications still under review, according to an AMF spokesperson. The AMF said that from July 1, providers without MiCA authorization “must cease their activities.” It also pointed to a February warning that unauthorized crypto asset services are a criminal offence punishable by up to two years in prison and a 30,000 euro (roughly $35,000) fine.
4. The French watchdog can also add firms to a blacklist, issue public warnings, and seek court orders to block access to unauthorized providers’ websites when they target French users. For payment and onboarding teams, that is the kind of enforcement that turns a licensing gap into an access problem very quickly.
5. Germany has taken the same hard line on timing: under its national implementation of MiCA, CASPs that were operating under prior exemptions must obtain authorization by June 30, BaFin said. The regulator said it follows EU and national deadlines and may apply enforcement measures “where possible and appropriate,” while noting that some applications remain under review. Austria, by contrast, did not extend grandfathering for virtual asset service providers under its pre-MiCA regime, which ended on Dec. 31, 2025, and its FMA said no exchanges are still operating without a license there.

Austria’s FMA said it has licensed nine CASPs so far and that MiCA application volume is “significant,” though it does not disclose how many applications are pending. Walkers’ Niall Esler, head of the regulatory and risk advisory practice, told Cointelegraph that a pending application does not protect a CASP from the deadline: if a firm keeps serving EU clients without authorization after the transition ends, it is operating unlawfully and cannot expect business as usual.