The transitional period for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) ends on 1 July 2026. From that date, any CASP operating in the EU must be authorised under MiCA unless an exemption or exclusion applies.
Ahead of this deadline, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has set out how firms that have not secured authorisation are expected to exit the market.
ESMA's Expectations for Firms Winding Down
In a public statement issued on 23 June 2026, ESMA addressed how unauthorised CASPs should wind down their activities once the transitional period expires. ESMA expects firms to act immediately and in an orderly manner that prioritises market integrity and the protection of client interests.
Specifically, unauthorised CASPs are expected to:
- stop onboarding new EU clients with immediate effect, refrain from opening new client relationships or accounts, and halt all marketing and solicitation activity;
- restrict their services to those strictly necessary to sell, transfer or reallocate assets or close positions, with custody of client crypto-assets permitted only for as long as required to facilitate an orderly exit;
- communicate clearly and promptly with clients, both retail and institutional on an ongoing basis regarding safeguarding measures and wind-down plans, including the timelines for disposing of, transferring, reallocating or closing positions. Such communications should specify a deadline after which residual positions may be closed automatically, together with information on client protection requirements; and
- conduct the wind-down in compliance with all applicable EU and national conduct and AML/CFT requirements, maintaining effective AML/CFT controls throughout. This includes customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, suspicious transaction reporting, sanctions compliance, record-keeping, and traceability obligations in respect of transfers of funds and crypto-assets. Firms must act diligently and with due care towards their clients.
Where clients are transferred to a MiCA-authorised CASP, the onboarding firm must complete all required onboarding procedures, including customer due diligence and AML/CFT checks.
Implications for Non-EU and Authorised CASPs
- Non-EU CASPs may not provide MiCA services to, or solicit, EU clients, and this prohibition extends to business-to-business dealings.
- MiCA-authorised CASPs are reminded that they may not outsource or delegate certain services custody in particular to unauthorised CASPs. Firms relying on outsourcing arrangements should review their service provider relationships.
Consumer Warnings and Supervisory Action
ESMA has emphasised that clients of unauthorised CASPs do not benefit from MiCA's safeguards. It advises clients using crypto-asset services in the EU to consult the ESMA register to confirm whether a provider is authorised and, where it is not, to consider transferring their assets either to a MiCA-authorised CASP or to a self-hosted wallet.
ESMA and the National Competent Authorities are engaging with unauthorised CASPs and will coordinate their monitoring of whether significant providers are winding down in good time. Their focus will be on client protection, financial stability and market integrity, a signal that the end of the transitional period will be actively supervised rather than left to firms' own discretion.
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