The European Union is approaching a historic milestone in the implementation of a common crypto market regulation. According to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), by the end of June, EU countries had issued 244 licenses for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) under the MiCA regulation. Germany led unconditionally, receiving 57 permits, almost a quarter (23%) of the total. It is followed by the Netherlands and France, each issuing 26 licenses.

Together, these three countries have accounted for almost half of all EU approvals, demonstrating significant imbalances in regulatory activity. Five countries - Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, and Romania - have not issued any MiCA licenses, raising questions about their markets' readiness for the new rules. The most requested services were treasury asset management (165 licenses), crypto asset transfers (149) and exchange of cryptocurrencies (133).

The German Federal Office for Financial Supervision (BaFin) attributes the country’s leadership to the scale of the financial sector and the existence of a national licensing system that has enabled some providers to take advantage of simplified transitional procedures. However, the complexity and cost of obtaining MiCA licenses is pushing many companies to emigrate.

Lawyers from Dubai are capturing unprecedented interest: more than 120 requests a week from European founders considering moving to the UAE along with capital and intellectual capacity. About half of the cases come from Germany, Spain, Italy, as well as Switzerland and the UK, which are not covered by MiCA but seek more favorable jurisdictions. This trend is intensifying as the deadline of 1 July approaches, after which companies without a MiCA license are required to stop serving customers in the EU.