EU MiCA Register Expands With 14 New Companies

Key Takeaways ESMA’s July 16 update added 14 firms to its central MiCA register, bringing the listed CASP total to 294. Ripple Payments Europe was added following its full authorisation by Luxembourg’s CSSF. The new entries span 10 European countries and include banks, exchanges, payment providers, and Bitcoin platforms. ESMA publishes the register but does not grant the underlying licences; national regulators authorise or notify each firm. The most recognisable addition is Ripple Payments Europe S.A., the Luxembourg entity through which Ripple provides regulated crypto payment services in the European Economic Area. The update also includes five bank-branded institutions and several established European exchanges and Bitcoin service providers. The wording is important: ESMA did not issue 14 licences on July 16. National regulators granted or received the relevant authorisations and notifications before sending the records to ESMA. The regulator then incorporated them into the EU-wide register during its weekly update. The 14 New Entries Span 10 Countries RegionKey EntitiesAustriaOSL EU GmbHCyprusBrilliantscope Trading LimitedGermanyVolksbank Schwarzwald-Donau-Neckar eG, Raiffeisenbank Auerbach-Freihung eGSpainIQANA TECHNOLOGIES S.L.CroatiaHrvatska poštanska banka d.d.LiechtensteinSMART VALOR AG, Kaiser Partner Privatbank AGLuxembourgCPS Europe S.A., Ripple Payments Europe S.A.LatviaHodleris SIANorwayBARE BITCOIN AS, NORWEGIAN BLOCK EXCHANGE ASPortugalBison Bank, S.A. The mix shows that MiCA authorisation is not limited to crypto-native exchanges. The register increasingly includes cooperative banks, private banks, payment companies, trading platforms, and firms focused specifically on Bitcoin. Each registration should still be examined separately. A firm’s appearance in the register does not mean it is authorised to provide every service covered by MiCA. The official record specifies which activities the relevant national regulator has approved, such as custody, exchange, execution, transfer services, order placement, or advice. Ripple Can Now Scale Payments Across the EEA Ripple announced its final MiCA CASP authorisation on July 6, after receiving preliminary approval from Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier in June. The authorisation applies to Ripple Payments Europe S.A. and allows Ripple to provide its regulated crypto payments product to financial institutions, corporations, and other business customers across the 30 countries of the European Economic Area. Cassie Craddock, Ripple’s managing director for the UK and Europe, said the approval left the company “fully compliant and ready to scale.” The licence adds a crypto-service layer to Ripple’s existing European regulatory position. Its separate electronic money institution authorisation covers relevant fiat-payment activities, while the CASP approval covers regulated services involving crypto-assets. That combination is useful for an enterprise payment provider because many cross-border transactions involve both sides of the financial system. A business may fund a payment in traditional currency, use a stablecoin or another digital asset during settlement, and deliver local currency to the recipient. MiCA authorisation does not mean Ripple received regulatory approval for XRP or every asset used through its products.