The number of banks registered in the EU MiCA registry doubled to about 80 institutions in less than three months, increasing their share among registered crypto service providers to nearly 23%. The number of banks grew from approximately 40 to 80 from June 26 to September 16. The total number of registered crypto providers increased from 243 to 349 during the same period. Germany became the main supplier of new bank entries, with local cooperative credit organizations and Deutsche Bank among the new institutions.
Banks gained the opportunity to enter the MiCA market through a notification process, unlike the standard application for crypto-asset service providers (CASP). According to Article 60 of MiCA, an EU credit institution can provide services with crypto-assets by submitting the necessary information to the home regulator at least 40 working days before starting operations. A company initially working with crypto-assets must instead apply for authorization under Article 62. As of September 16, banks accounted for nearly a quarter of all registered crypto service providers, up from one-sixth on June 26. The number of banks in the registry increased by 100%, while the total number of crypto service providers increased by about 44%. This indicates that banks are gaining market share, although crypto exchanges, custodians, and other non-credit organizations also continued to enter the regulated EU market.
Non-credit providers still make up the majority of the registry: their number grew from approximately 203 to 269 between the two dates, but the share decreased from 84% to 77% as banks entered more quickly. The decrease in share does not mean that providers were leaving the registry; it was caused by the faster growth in the number of banks. Entries in the MiCA registry may vary in permissions to provide services. A place in the registry does not mean that each provider can offer the same products, as MiCA separately covers custody, cryptocurrency transfers, trading platforms, and other aspects. Deutsche Bank announced plans to offer cryptocurrency custody services for institutional and corporate clients in Europe and expects to receive MiCA approval for this service in October.
Among the German entries are not only major players but also regional cooperative banks. In August, Raiffeisenbank Aidlingen, Ihre Volksbank, VR Bank Mittelfranken Mitte, Volksbank Euskirchen, VR Bank Ried Überwald, and Volksbank Backnang entered the registry. At that time, Germany had 79 authorized crypto service providers compared to 35 in France and 29 in the Netherlands. After these additions, the pan-European number reached 331, and by September 16, it had grown to 349.
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