MICA License

Licensing at a Glance

Article 59 also requires activity in the registered-office Member State.

Is This the Right Route for Your Business?

Exchanges, custodians, trading platforms, brokers and investment advisers serving EU crypto clients should assess their authorization needs. Financial instruments, payment services and token issuance require separate classification. Fully decentralised arrangements without an intermediary require careful assessment, not reliance on a “DeFi” (Decentralized Finance) label.

Which Application Route Applies?

The route depends on your planned activities and any financial license your business already holds.

Article 60 covers banks, investment firms, central securities depositories, market operators, electronic money institutions (EMIs), UCITS management companies and alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs). A payment institution license alone does not qualify.

Which Activities Are Covered?

MiCA covers ten crypto-asset services:

1. Custody and administration of crypto assets
   Allows to receive and hold client's crypto assets, but not to transfer them.
2. Operating a trading platform
   Running a system that brings together multiple buyers and sellers to trade crypto assets under the platform’s rules.
3. Exchange for funds
   Buying or selling crypto assets for money, with your business acting as the buyer or seller.
4. Exchange for other crypto assets:
   Trading one crypto asset for another, with your business acting as the counterparty.
5. Order execution
   Allows to execute orders for exchange and purchase of crypto assets with third parties on behalf of the client.
6. Receiving and transmitting orders
   Allows to receive and transfer orders for exchange and purchase of crypto assets with third parties on behalf of the client.
7. Placing of crypto assets (Listing)
   Allows to offer crypto assets issued by the client to third parties.
8. Advice on crypto assets
   Allows to provide information (advice) on transactions with crypto assets.
9. Portfolio management of crypto assets
   Allows to make transaction with crypto assets for investment purposes on behalf of the client.
10. Transfers
    Moving clients’ crypto assets between blockchain addresses or accounts at their request.

Token issuance alone is not a CASP service. Asset-referenced tokens (ARTs), e-money tokens (EMTs), financial instruments under MiFID II and payment services require separate regulatory assessment.

What Will Gofaizen & Sherle Handle?

Gofaizen & Sherle acts as your regulatory consultants and solution provider for MiCA licensing support. Our EU CASP application support covers:

• Service-perimeter assessment and jurisdiction selection
  Identify which activities require authorization and help with home-state selection—the EU country where you will apply.
• Company setup
  Establish an EU entity, support office arrangements and assist with banking and safeguarding arrangements to protect client assets.
• MiCA application preparation
  Prepare ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) and management files, the program of operations, and calculations for prudential safeguards—the required financial protection.
• Governance and compliance
  Define management responsibilities and prepare anti-money laundering (AML), risk, business continuity and reporting policies.
• Technology coordination
  Support customer verification and transaction-monitoring tools, Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR) and Travel Rule implementation, and Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) preparation.
• Recruitment
  Identify staffing needs, assess candidates and support hiring and onboarding.
• NCA filing and follow-up
  Support submission of your application to the NCA, responses to its questions, passporting notifications for other EU countries and ongoing compliance.

The agreed scope defines responsibilities. Your management supplies accurate information, approves appointments and implements controls. AML advisers support financial-crime compliance, technology vendors implement systems, and independent auditors perform checks. Banks, electronic money institutions and payment service providers make their own onboarding decisions. The regulator decides whether to grant authorization.

What Does the Service Cost?

Discuss three possible scopes:

Separate advisory fees from NCA charges, incorporation, capital, staffing, audit, insurance, ICT and banking costs. These require their own budget.

What Should You Prepare?

Provide:

• ownership and UBO details
• management profiles
• entity status
• proposed services
• target markets
• client types
• transaction flows.

Include custody arrangements, technology providers, financial projections, expected volumes, banking needs and existing compliance controls.

How Long Does Authorization Take?

Preparation depends on evidence and operational gaps. Article 63 sets separate regulatory stages:

These periods are not an end-to-end project estimate. Under Article 65, cross-border services can start upon notification of authority-to-authority communication or, at latest, 15 calendar days after submitting the required information.

How Does the MiCA Framework Apply?

Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (also called MiCAR) separates service-provider authorization under Title V from other-token offerings under Title II, asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) under Title III and e-money tokens (EMTs) under Title IV.

Under Annex IV, minimum amounts are €50,000 for execution, placing, transfers, order reception/transmission, advice and portfolio management, €125,000 when custody or exchange is included, and €150,000 for trading platforms. Article 67 requires the higher of that amount and one quarter of fixed overheads. New businesses use projected overheads.

What Is the Current Regulatory Status?

Check the authorised entity and permissions in the ESMA register.

What Changes Between EU Countries?

MiCA sets common EU authorization rules, but each country has its own regulator, application procedures and taxes.

Gofaizen & Sherle checks these requirements before recommending an EU country for your business.

What Continues After Approval?

Management remains responsible for ongoing governance, client-asset protection, complaints, conflicts, outsourcing, records and reporting. Safeguards must remain adequate, with annual overhead review. Material changes require applicable notifications.

AML/CFT controls include transfer-information handling under the TFR Travel Rule. The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) adds ICT risk management, resilience testing, incident reporting and third-party oversight. Gofaizen & Sherle can support policy updates, while operational responsibility remains with the business.

What Are the Consequences of Non-Compliance?

Unauthorised activity and other breaches can lead to public statements, cessation orders, fines, management restrictions or authorization withdrawal, depending on the infringement and applicable national law under Article 111.

Does Authorization Secure Banking Access?

No. Banks, EMIs and payment providers make independent onboarding decisions. Under Article 70, relevant client funds must be placed with a credit institution or central bank and separately identifiable. A commercial payment account does not automatically satisfy safeguarding requirements.

Which Taxes and Reporting Rules Apply?

Corporate tax, VAT, payroll and withholding depend on national law and the activities involved. MiCA provides no uniform tax rate. Under DAC8, in-scope providers collect reportable transaction data from 1 January 2026. This is a reporting framework, not a tax exemption.

Which Alternatives Should You Assess?