BNY’s Belgian arm joins MiCA register as Europe’s authorised crypto firms reach 309
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) added 15 crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to its interim Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) register, bringing the count to 309 distinct authorised providers in the latest file dated July 23 and published July 24.
Headline entrant: BNY SA/NV
- BNY SA/NV, the Belgian subsidiary of U.S. financial-services giant BNY Mellon, was authorised by the National Bank of Belgium on July 20 to provide crypto-asset custody and transfer services on behalf of clients. BNY describes itself as a global financial-services platform and reported $62.6 trillion in assets under custody or administration as of June 30. Its MiCA authorisation covers custody/administration and transfers only — it does not include exchange or trading-platform operations.
Who else made the cut
- Germany led this batch with four new entries: Raiffeisenbank Falkenstein‑Wörth, Spar- und Kreditbank Rheinstetten, VR‑Bank Augsburg‑Ostallgäu, and JT Technologies.
- Denmark added three firms: Coinify ApS, SafeLynx Technologies and Januar (the latter supplies payment and banking infrastructure to digital-asset companies).
- The Netherlands’ addition was BitPay B.V., and other newcomers include Bulgaria’s Altcoins BG and Digital Assist, Latvia’s Bleap and Nodu Digital, Liechtenstein’s Damoon Technology Europe, and Cyprus-based SG Digital Assets.
Register mechanics and totals
- ESMA’s published CSV contains 312 rows, but some firms appear more than once. A NorthPoint comparison counted 309 distinct entity-and-regulator pairs, explaining why some trackers report different totals depending on whether they count authorisation records or unique providers.
- ESMA republish the register weekly with national regulators supplying the data.
Regulatory context and market impact
- The update follows the end of the EU’s MiCA transition period on July 1. Firms that had been operating under national registrations must now hold a CASP authorisation for covered services or halt those activities. A MiCA authorisation from one national authority can facilitate cross-border services after passporting, but it only covers the specific services listed for that provider.
- The July deadline reshaped market access for some operators: a number of providers limited new accounts or altered European services, while authorised firms began competing for customers migrating to regulated platforms. In the previous weekly update ESMA added 14 providers, lifting the register to 294 — that group included names such as Ripple Payments Europe.
Sustainability concerns
- Rising CASP counts show national authorities are still processing applications, but authorisation does not guarantee that a firm will launch services quickly or sustain the ongoing costs of compliance. Gate Europe CEO Giovanni Cunti warned some newly licensed firms “may not be capable to sustain the cost and the resources” required long-term, as staffing, reporting, security and capital requirements bite.
What to watch next
- The latest batch brings more traditional finance names onto the MiCA register alongside payments firms, infrastructure providers and smaller crypto businesses. ESMA’s weekly files will reveal whether the number of authorised providers continues to climb post-deadline — and which of them actually roll out services in Europe. Remember: ESMA’s register is a public record of authorisation, not a rating of financial strength or service quality, and entries may appear with a delay after national regulators submit data.
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