MiCA Licensing Slows as ESMA Adds 14 New CASPs to Its Register

European authorities added 14 crypto companies to the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework register in the second post-deadline update, signaling a slower licensing pace after an initial surge.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) updated its interim MiCA register on Thursday, bringing the total number of licensed crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to 294.

The new entries include Ripple Payments Europe, the European payments arm of blockchain company Ripple, as well as Portugal-based Bison Bank and Croatia’s state-owned bank, Hrvatska poštanska banka (HPB).

The update follows ESMA’s previous register expansion on July 3, when the regulator added 37 CASPs in the first major post-deadline update after MiCA’s transitional period ended.

Banks deepen MiCA presence

Several newly added companies highlight the continued entry of traditional financial institutions into Europe’s regulated crypto market.

In addition to Bison Bank and HPB, the MiCA register added two cooperative banks from Germany, namely Volksbank Schwarzwald-Donau-Neckar and Raiffeisenbank Auerbach-Freihung.

The update also included Liechtenstein-based Kaiser Partner Privatbank, expanding the presence of private banking groups offering regulated crypto services under MiCA.

14 newly approved CASPs in the MiCA register update on July 16, 2026. Source: ESMA

The register counts dozens of traditional finance institutions, including Spain’s BBVA and CaixaBank, Germany’s Commerzbank, France’s CACEIS Bank and Standard Chartered Luxembourg.

EMT and ART registers remain unchanged

ESMA reported no changes to its registers for electronic money tokens (EMTs), a category of crypto-assets designed to maintain a stable value against a single official currency, or asset-referenced tokens (ARTs), which are linked to multiple assets such as currencies or commodities.

As of the latest update, the EMT register counted 21 unique issuers, while the ART register continued to list no approved issuers.

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The regulator also added two entities to its non-compliant register following actions by Italy’s securities regulator, the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB).

The new additions were Reversal Investment Group and Kortex, bringing the total number of entries on the non-compliant list to 164, including crypto exchange MEXC.

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