New MiCA Rules for Crypto Platforms in the EU

From July 1, 2026, crypto platforms without a MiCA license will have to cease operations within the European Union. For many market participants, this means choosing between obtaining a license and shutting down their activities.
According to the French financial regulator (AMF), not all companies will manage to complete the licensing process before the end of the transition period. One of the key requirements of MiCA is the mandatory separation of client funds from the company’s own funds. Crypto service operators will no longer be able to hold user assets together with their own funds and use them in their own operations.
The new rules also provide for enhanced oversight of market participants, additional requirements for customer protection, measures to combat money laundering, and requirements for the financial stability of companies. Companies that cannot obtain a MiCA license will be required to cease operations within the European Union.
If an operator continues to operate without the necessary authorization, the regulator has the right to include it in the list of unauthorized market participants, publish an official warning for users, initiate website blocking, and take other measures provided by law. In this case, the interests of clients must be protected.
Companies that cannot continue operations are required to organize a procedure for winding down their activities in advance and provide users with the opportunity to transfer their crypto assets to another licensed platform or sell them with prior notice.
For cryptocurrency owners, this means that when choosing a service, the presence of a MiCA license will become increasingly important, not just the size of fees or the number of available tokens. You can check whether the platform you are using has the necessary authorization in the official AMF register: AMF Register of Authorized Crypto Platforms.
From July 1, 2026, the European crypto market will finally transition to significantly stricter regulation, and the requirements for its participants will become increasingly similar to those that have long been in place for banks and other financial organizations.