Unlicensed crypto payment providers face a cliff edge on 1 July, when the transitional grace period of the EU’s landmark crypto regulation, MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets), comes to an end.
Since the rules came into force, crypto firms have been allowed to continue operating while they applied for full authorisation. From 1 July, that allowance disappears: any crypto payment provider without a CASP licence must stop serving European customers.
Confirmo, one of Europe’s first fully licensed stablecoin payment providers under MiCA, as well as an authorised Payment Institution under the Payment Services Regulations 2018 (PSR), is urging businesses to check that their crypto payments provider is compliant before the deadline, warning that many providers will not make it.
The concern is how many providers will fail to get authorised in time. According to law firm Hogan Lovells, around 75% of Europe’s pre-MiCA crypto firms are expected to lose their registration as the deadline passes, down from more than 3,000 providers in 2024 to 194 who are fully authorised today.
“MiCA was the first regulation of its kind, and it has set a global standard you can already see other regulators drawing on. Regulation of this kind matters because it’s what gives businesses confidence that the partners handling their money are stable, secure, and here to stay – the foundation for adoption at scale. We chose to be authorised under MiCA by the Central Bank of Ireland because it is one of Europe’s most rigorous regulators, and meeting that bar is exactly what gives our clients confidence we will still be operating, and serving them, well beyond the deadline.”
Derek Corcoran, CEO of Confirmo Limited (Ireland)
For the businesses still relying on providers yet to secure MiCA authorisation, the risk is operational, commercial, and reputational. Contracts, settlement flows, and reconciliation processes built on an unlicensed provider are all exposed. The message is simple: check your payment provider’s regulatory status now, or risk being caught out when the deadline hits.
Derek Corcoran continues:
“From 1 July, the market will start to consolidate around the providers that took compliance seriously and quality of regulation will become a genuine competitive advantage. Compliance teams will start asking harder questions of their payment partners, and the answers will matter more than before. For businesses working with a compliant provider, the opportunity of stablecoins is real: faster settlement across payments, FX and treasury flows, and the confidence to scale on infrastructure that regulators trust.”
