MiCAR: authorisation and supervision for crypto-asset service providers and stablecoins.
The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 has applied since 30 June 2024 to issuers of asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens and since 30 December 2024 to crypto-asset service providers. The Netherlands implemented the regulation with the Crypto-Assets Implementation Act (in force 4 February 2025). The Dutch transitional regime for existing providers ended on 30 June 2025; the European maximum on 1 July 2026. Almost all technical standards have been adopted; the standards on the reserve of assets of stablecoin issuers had not yet been published in the Official Journal as at 7 October 2026.
Status · last updated 7 October 2026.
What we do for you.
Three ways we take on MiCAR questions.
Scope per service, application file in line with the technical standards, coordination with the AFM and DNB.
Governance, safekeeping of client assets, complaints, conflicts of interest, outsourcing, DORA and the AML link.
ART/EMT questions, the boundary with payment services (PSD2/PSD3) and with MiFID II.
Frequently asked questions.
Who does MiCAR apply to?
MiCAR covers three groups: anyone offering crypto-assets to the public or seeking admission to trading, issuers of asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs), and crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). Crypto-assets that already qualify as a financial instrument, deposit, funds (other than EMTs), securitisation position or insurance product fall outside the regulation, as do unique, non-fungible tokens. Whether a token is a financial instrument is assessed under the ESMA guidelines on Article 2(5).
Since when does MiCAR apply and what is the Dutch position?
The regulation entered into force on 29 June 2023. The rules for ARTs and EMTs have applied since 30 June 2024, the remaining titles (white papers, CASPs, market abuse, supervision) since 30 December 2024. The Dutch Crypto-Assets Implementation Act (Stb. 2024, 415), the implementing decree (Stb. 2024, 404) and the implementing act for the transfer of funds regulation (Stb. 2024, 414) entered into force on 4 February 2025.
What are the ten crypto-asset services under MiCAR?
Custody and administration of crypto-assets, operation of a trading platform, exchange for funds, exchange for other crypto-assets, execution of orders, placing, reception and transmission of orders, advice, portfolio management and transfer services. The licence is granted per service; describing the scope per service is in practice the first fault line in an application.
Licence or notification: which route applies to us?
A new entrant applies to the AFM for a CASP licence (Articles 59, 62 and 63). Banks, central securities depositories, investment firms, e-money institutions, fund managers and market operators may provide certain services after a notification forty working days in advance (Article 60), provided the service matches their existing authorisation. A notification is not a formality: the AFM checks completeness and may ask further questions.
What goes into a CASP licence application and how long does it take?
The content is laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/305 and the forms in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/306: business plan, governance and suitability of directors, internal control, ICT (DORA), safekeeping of client assets, complaints, conflicts of interest and outsourcing. The AFM checks completeness within 25 working days and then decides within 40 working days. Because of rounds of questions on scope, outsourcing and ICT documentation, a process in practice takes closer to three quarters than five months (our own experience).
How much own funds must a CASP hold?
The higher of the minimum capital in Annex IV (EUR 50,000 for class 1, EUR 125,000 for class 2 and EUR 150,000 for class 3) and one quarter of the previous year’s fixed overheads (Article 67). A common mistake is to calculate on the minimum capital alone.
How must clients’ crypto-assets and funds be held?
Client assets are segregated from the firm’s own assets, and client funds (other than EMTs) are placed with a credit institution or central bank by the end of the next business day (Article 70). Anyone providing payment services in relation to those funds needs a PSD2 licence or engages a licensed payment institution. Transfers of e-money tokens can be a payment service; the EBA issued opinions on this in 2025 and 2026.
What is the difference between an asset-referenced token and an e-money token?
An e-money token references a single official currency and may only be issued by a bank or e-money institution; it is electronic money and must be redeemable at par at any time. An asset-referenced token references another value or a combination of values and requires its own authorisation with an approved white paper, own funds (at least EUR 350,000, 2 percent of the reserve or one quarter of fixed overheads) and a segregated reserve of assets. In the Netherlands DNB supervises both types of issuer; the EBA supervises significant tokens.
How does MiCAR relate to the Wwft, DORA and MiFID II?
A CASP is an obliged entity under the Dutch AML act and has been subject to the transfer of funds regulation (travel rule) since 30 December 2024; the risk assessment must cover crypto transactions and sanctions. CASPs are financial entities under DORA and the AFM expects ICT documentation with the application. If a token qualifies as a financial instrument, MiFID II applies instead of MiCAR.
What are the most common mistakes in MiCAR files?
Scope per service not written out; custody and transfer services not distinguished, leaving the PSD2 question open; prudential safeguards calculated on minimum capital only; segregation of client money not demonstrable within one business day; DORA material postponed; outsourcing agreements without the mandatory elements; risk assessment without travel-rule and sanctions scenarios; white paper without the sustainability indicators or not in the prescribed format. (Generic patterns from our own files.)
What is still moving around MiCAR?
The technical standards on the reserve of assets (Articles 36 and 38) had not yet been published as at 7 October 2026. The European Commission is reviewing MiCAR; ESMA and the EBA published their responses on 24 and 30 September 2026, proposing stricter marketing rules, a separate category for decentralised services and binding token classifications. In December 2025 the Commission proposed giving ESMA direct supervision of CASPs. The interplay with PSD3 and the PSR (the e-money institution merging into the payment institution) is a second point of attention.