BitPay Secures Dutch MiCA License, Plans European Stablecoin Payment Expansion
The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) is the world’s first comprehensive legal framework for regulating crypto assets and is designed to harmonize rules across the bloc’s 27 member states. As the regulation is phased in, its passporting mechanism—which allows a license obtained in one member state to cover the entire EU—has become a crucial gateway for crypto payment providers competing in Europe. It also represents a significant milestone in bringing stablecoin payments into the regulatory mainstream and encouraging wider adoption.
Crypto payments company BitPay announced on July 16, 2026, that its European subsidiary, BitPay B.V., had formally received approval from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) for a crypto-asset service provider license. The license allows BitPay to operate legally across all 27 EU member states. The company plans to use it to significantly expand its regional payment business, focusing on stablecoins such as USDC.
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The history behind this eventOpenPayd Secures EU MiCA License to Expand European Stablecoin Business
The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, or MiCA, places crypto-asset service providers under a single framework and allows licensed firms to serve the European Economic Area through passporting. OpenPayd launched stablecoin infrastructure linking fiat currencies and digital assets in May 2025. The license is critical to the compliant expansion of its cross-border payments, treasury and settlement businesses.
OpenPayd announced on June 24, 2026, that it had secured a MiCA crypto-asset service provider license from the Malta Financial Services Authority. The authorization allows it to offer fiat and stablecoin on- and off-ramps, custody, wallets and cross-chain transfers across the European Economic Area. The company said its annualized transaction volume exceeded $240 billion and that it served more than 1,100 businesses. Approval came just days before the July 1 transition deadline.
Paybis Secures MiCA and PSD2 Licenses in Latvia for EU Crypto Expansion
The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) became fully applicable on December 30, 2024, allowing providers licensed in one member state to offer services across the bloc. PSD2 governs payment institutions. Paybis, which serves about 7 million users, will operate under both frameworks, enabling it to connect crypto assets with fiat payments without applying for separate licenses in each country.
Latvijas Banka’s Supervision Committee decided on May 12, 2026, to grant SIA Paybis Europe a MiCA crypto-asset service provider license and a PSD2 payment institution license, announcing the decision on May 13. Paybis became the first company in Latvia to receive both authorizations on the same day. It can now provide custody, trading, transfer, order execution, advisory and payment-transfer services across all 27 EU countries.
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