ESMA’s Register Keeps Moving: 14 New CASPs Bring the Post-Transition Total to 294 entries
The slowest news weekend since the MiCA transitional period closed still carried one structural signal. On 16 July, the European Securities and Markets Authority- ESMA published its second post-deadline update to the interim MiCA register, adding 14 newly authorised crypto-asset service providers and bringing the total to 294 entries. The additions include Ripple Payments Europe, the payments arm of Ripple, alongside OSL EU and a distinctly traditional cohort: Portugal’s Bison Bank, Croatia’s state-owned Hrvatska poštanska banka, Liechtenstein’s Kaiser Partner Privatbank, and two German cooperative banks, Volksbank Schwarzwald-Donau-Neckar and Raiffeisenbank Auerbach-Freihung. The register now reads increasingly like a directory of European banking: BBVA, CaixaBank, Commerzbank, CACEIS and Standard Chartered Luxembourg are already listed.
The pace tells its own story. Before 1 July, the register held roughly 244 authorised CASPs. The first post-deadline update on 3 July added 37. This one added 14. Authorisation is continuing, but the review process appears to be shifting from mass onboarding to a more selective rhythm. Meanwhile, the stablecoin registers did not move: 21 authorised EMT issuers, and still zero authorised ART issuers, a figure worth watching as the MiCA review consultation debates the treatment of asset-referenced structures.
Enforcement moved in parallel. Following action by Italy’s CONSOB, ESMA added two entities, Reversal Investment Group and Kortex, to its non-compliant register, which now stands at 164 entries. The register architecture is doing both jobs at once: recording who is inside the perimeter, and naming who is not.
For context, the update landed days after AMLA Chair Bruna Szego told the European Parliament this month that the post-deadline client migration is straining AML and onboarding processes at both existing and licensed firms.
What to watch:
- The European Commission's MiCA review consultation remains open until 30 September 2026, extended from the original 31 August deadline.. The Alliance is preparing its response and welcomes input from members.
- ESMA’s CASP staff knowledge and competence guidelines apply from 28 July, meaning authorised CASPs must be able to evidence the knowledge and competence of staff providing information or advice on crypto-assets. The Alliance is preparing a structured training programme mapped to these guidelines, with more to share soon.
