European Banks Go All In on Crypto as MiCA Drives Expansion

The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, known as MiCA, became fully applicable on Dec. 30, 2024, creating a common licensing and passporting framework for crypto services across the bloc. German financial institutions have moved quickly to secure crypto-asset service provider, or CASP, status, signaling that custody, trading and related offerings are increasingly being brought inside the regulated banking system.

The European Securities and Markets Authority added six German cooperative banks in its latest update to the MiCA register, lifting Germany’s total number of authorized institutions to 79. The country remains ahead of France and the Netherlands, widening its lead as traditional lenders expand into regulated digital-asset services. The additions underscore Germany’s early advantage in converting established banking networks into MiCA-compliant crypto distribution channels.

The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, known as MiCA, created a common authorization and supervision regime for crypto-asset service providers across the bloc. A license can be passported into other EU markets, replacing a patchwork of national rules with standards covering governance, disclosures and client protection. The addition of a unit of BNY, one of the world’s largest custody banks, underscores how traditional financial institutions are moving regulated digital-asset services into their core European operations.

The European Securities and Markets Authority updated its interim MiCA register on July 24, adding 15 crypto-asset service providers and lifting the total to 309. The additions included Belgium-based BNY SA/NV, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon, authorized for crypto-asset custody and transfer services following notification by the National Bank of Belgium. It was ESMA’s third register update since the EU’s longest grandfathering period expired on July 1, when providers without MiCA authorization were required to stop serving EU clients.

The European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, or MiCA, requires certain stablecoin issuers to back their reserves with liquid assets such as bank deposits and government securities, tightening the links between crypto markets and banks. When Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March 2023, $3.3 billion of Circle's USDC reserves was trapped, underscoring how a banking crisis can quickly trigger a stablecoin depeg and a wave of redemptions.

On May 28, 2026, Elena Carletti, UniCredit's deputy chair and head of the board's risk committee, warned at an IESE Business School conference in Madrid that EU deposit insurance covers only €100,000 per depositor at each bank. Europe therefore cannot match the United States' full protection of deposits following the failures of SVB and Signature Bank. MiCA strengthens the banking link without providing equivalent rescue tools, creating what Carletti called a “dual vulnerability.”

The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA, became fully applicable on December 30, 2024, establishing a harmonized framework for crypto-asset services. ClearBank Europe obtained a Dutch banking license in August 2024. The group serves more than 270 institutional clients and holds £18 billion in client deposits, and its adoption of stablecoins marks a further step toward linking traditional clearing banks with blockchain-based payments.

On April 9, 2026, the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets confirmed that ClearBank Europe had completed its MiCAR notification, making it the first credit institution in the Netherlands to obtain crypto-asset service provider status. The bank will connect to Circle Mint, enabling institutional clients to convert euros and U.S. dollars into EURC and USDC and vice versa for cross-border payments and settlement. No investment amount or launch date was disclosed.