ESMA Hits 309 Licensed Crypto Firms in Major EU Win

By Edited By Ammar Raza,
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ESMA now oversees 309 EU-licensed CASPs, including BNY Mellon and BitPay, under MiCA. The framework grants legal certainty and passporting across 27 states, lowering risk for investors and firms. With TradFi entering, compliant providers are positioned to capture growing institutional crypto volume.

What to Know

  • BNY Mellon adds institutional custody, BitPay expands licensed payments under MiCA.
  • One license for 27 states gives legal certainty, lowers risk, and sets standards for reserves and governance.
  • TradFi adoption is accelerating. Next: ESMA stablecoin rules and cross-border enforcement.
ESMA

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announced the inclusion of 15 new Crypto Asset Service Providers to the official MiCA registry, making the current total 309 registered providers.

These 15 included BNY Mellon’s Belgian subsidiary and payments giant BitPay, so a major custodial bank is being regulated for the first time in the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation.

ESMA Oversight Expands Across EU CASPs

More ESMA-regulated CASPs across the EU have emerged with time, and now it is ESMA’s job to watch over them. The BNY Mellon case means that the institutional custody infrastructure is being introduced inside MiCA’s scope, and BitPay’s registration has the effect of widening the number of licensed payments.

ESMA
Source: European Union

Other providers listed include exchanges, wallets and platforms allowing tokenization.

Also Read: Ripple CASP License Expands as ESMA Adds 14 New Crypto Firms Under MiCA

First of all ESMA registry offers legal certainty and passporting rights in 27 EU states which is extremely beneficial for investors. That means investors themselves, asset funds, and exchanges looking for compliant venues would be exposed to a much lower risk if their counterparts fail.

Also, for developers, MiCA gives them one route only through which they can put their products on the market in the EU instead of getting a bunch of fragmented national licenses while at the same time MiCA establishes regulatory requirements that would be very interesting to the regulator to monitor like reserve management, governance, and consumer protection.

Also Read: Coinbase AiFi Could Drive Crypto Growth as AI Adoption Accelerates

Past Trend, Industry Development, and Future Outlook

This growth mirrors the overall 2026 trend of traditional finance getting to the bottom of cryptocurrency and using it on regulated platforms. The compliance moat is growing as there are 309 companies currently on the list. Compliant CASPs are well-placed to attract enterprise volume as MiCA becomes more embedded in the markets.

BitPay

Source: BitPay’s X Post

The coming main points will include the ESMA’s guidelines on the regulation of stablecoins and the enforcement of the law beyond national borders, which are essential for the development of cryptocurrency in the EU. The main registry will probably be used as a standard for crypto legislations by different countries that are also institutionalised.

Also Read: CLARITY Act Gains Senate Support as US Moves to Tighten Crypto Regulations

Ananthyka J

Ananthyka J

Ananthyka J is a market reporter at Tronweekly, reporting on cryptocurrency news. She covers cryptocurrency markets, blockchain technology, and digital asset regulation, focusing on Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, altcoins, and crypto policy. Her reporting emphasizes clear and accurate market coverage, including crypto market movements, regulatory developments, and blockchain adoption. She holds a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication and an MA in Communication and Media Studies. She has also completed multiple media internships, follows strict editorial and fact-checking standards, and discloses potential conflicts of interest when reporting.

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