Europe’s market regulator has told illegal crypto-asset providers to close EU operations without delay. European Securities and Markets Authority printed the guidelines as the transition period of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation will expire on 1 July 2026.
MICA is the EU’s crypto regulatory framework. It requires every company offering crypto services to EU customers to have a valid license. The transition period allowed existing donors to continue to operate under national governments while seeking accreditation. That window closes on July 1.
Some companies got approval ahead of time. Others did not. ESMA’s statement refers to the second group.
According to ESMA’s release, unauthorized companies face clear obligations. They should stop taking new EU customers. Advertising and solicitation of EU residents must stop. New accounts cannot be opened.
Existing jobs should be reduced. Companies can continue to operate as long as they are needed to help customers sell goods, transfer goods, close quarters, or exit the platform.
Storage of the customer’s goods is permitted only if necessary to complete the orderly checkout. Companies must also communicate with customers. ESMA expects communications to be clear, prompt, and repeatable.
Customers need to know the deadline, the security available, and what will happen to the remaining space if nothing happens. The deadline for closing the independent site must be stated.
AML crypto regulations still apply
ESMA emphasized that compliance does not stop during the break. Companies need to improve spending money and control of counter-terrorism funding throughout the exit process. This includes customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, penalty management, suspicious transaction reporting, and record keeping.
Where a customer transfers to an authorized MiCA agent, the receiving company must carry out a full check. The permission does not come from the previous donor.
ESMA added a warning to companies outside the European Union. Non-EU CASPs cannot provide MiCA services to EU customers, including business-to-business arrangements.
The regulator also noted that MiCA prohibits companies from selling outsourcing services to entities that do not have a CASP license under the rules.
ESMA issued a direct warning to retail users. Clients of unauthorized issuers do not benefit from MiCA’s investor protection rules. There is no guarantee of protection of property under the policy if the issuer is not licensed.
EU customers are advised to check whether their issuer is licensed by searching the ESMA register, a public database of authorized CASPs.
The July 1 deadline marks the end of the multi-year transition to the EU’s crypto ledger.
