Crypto exchanges 09.06: 21 days to MiCA deadline

Tuesday 9 June 2026 passed without new licensing announcements in the Baltic and Nordic crypto exchange sector, but the calm is deceptive: exactly 21 days remain until the end of the MiCA transition period on 30 June, and from 1 July the EU's unified crypto-asset framework applies in full, with no exceptions. Today's review covers the state of the regulatory countdown, the region's most significant cross-border deal and the market's cautious stabilisation after the weakest week this spring.

The MiCA countdown - 21 days to the end of the transition

One date continues to dominate the region's agenda. From 1 July, every company providing crypto-asset exchange, custody or other digital asset services in the European Union and the European Economic Area must hold a full crypto-asset service provider (CASP) licence. The interim CASP register of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) was last refreshed on 4 June and is updated weekly - over the next three weeks this list will become the key reference point for operators and customers alike.

The Europe-wide statistics have barely moved and remain a cause for concern: roughly 210 operators across 23 member states have obtained a full CASP licence, while more than 1,200 companies operated under national registrations before MiCA. The conversion rate remains below 18 percent, and industry analysts warn that for most of the remaining operators a licence before the deadline is no longer procedurally achievable. ESMA has repeatedly stressed that firms without authorisation must implement orderly wind-down plans that minimise harm to clients, and that last-minute applications will face heightened supervisory scrutiny.

The Baltics: Estonia still waiting for its first licence

The Baltic picture was unchanged on Tuesday - and that in itself is the story. Latvia retains its role as the regional leader: Latvijas Banka has already granted full CASP licences to several operators, including BlockBen, Nexdesk and Neverless, while Paybis received a rare dual authorisation in May - both a MiCA CASP licence and a payment institution licence. Latvia's national transition period runs until 30 December, giving the regulator time for a thorough assessment of each application.

In Lithuania, where the national transition period ended on 1 January, the Bank of Lithuania has issued licences to, among others, Robinhood Europe, Nuvei (Simplex) and CoinGate, and the supervisor is preparing technical blocking measures against unlicensed operators. In Estonia the situation remains the opposite: Finantsinspektsioon has not yet issued a single full MiCA CASP licence, and as the deadline approaches, the question of whether a country that was historically home to hundreds of crypto registrations will enter July without a single licensed local operator is becoming ever more pointed.

The Nordics: Penning acquires Veli, Firi prepares for Sweden

The region's most significant recent event is a Danish-Lithuanian cross-border deal: Penning, one of Denmark's first MiCA-licensed crypto firms, has acquired the business of Lithuanian wealth manager Veli and is building its wealth management arm, Penning Wealth, on that foundation. It is one of the first examples of MiCA-era consolidation in which a Nordic licensed operator takes over a Baltic company's client base - precisely the scenario ESMA cites as one of the exits available to unlicensed operators.

In Norway, Firi, having received its CASP licence from Finanstilsynet, continues to prepare its entry into Sweden, which will become its third market after Norway and Denmark. The exchange, which serves more than 400,000 verified customers, posted a profit of NOK 28 million in 2025 - its second profitable year in a row. In Sweden, meanwhile, June should bring the launch of AllUnity's SEKAU - the first regulated stablecoin denominated in a Nordic currency - which will further sharpen competition in a market already served by Safello, Coinmotion and soon Firi. The core of licensed operators in Finland and Denmark remains stable: Coinmotion, Tesseract, Northcrypto, Kvarn Capital and Bittimaatti in Finland; GCEX, Penning, Northstake and Lunar Bank in Denmark.

The market: cautious stabilisation after a weak week

Tuesday's trading marked a cautious stabilisation. Bitcoin opened the day at around USD 63,100 and traded near the USD 62,600 mark in the morning - after the price briefly slipped below the USD 60,000 threshold on Friday 5 June. Ethereum held at roughly USD 1,690, up just under one and a half percent over 24 hours, though the weekly balance is still around minus 15 percent. Investors' attention now turns to the US Federal Reserve meeting on 17 and 18 June, whose outcome will largely set the tone for risk assets in the second half of the month. For the region's exchanges, however, the decisive factor in the coming weeks will not be prices but regulatory announcements.

What to watch in the coming days

Three things deserve attention in the near term: upcoming licensing announcements from Latvijas Banka and other regional regulators ahead of the deadline, the weekly updates of ESMA's interim register, and decisions by the Norwegian and Finnish supervisors on still-pending applications, including K33, NBX and Bare Bitcoin. Investors using Baltic or Nordic crypto exchanges are still advised to check their operator's MiCA licence status in ESMA's interim CASP register or the national regulator's list before 1 July. If an operator has not published a clear statement on the status of its application, that is a legitimate warning sign.

Sources

• ESMA - Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) overview
• Latvijas Banka - Crypto-asset service providers
• Lietuvos bankas - Authorisation of crypto-asset service providers
• Finanstilsynet - Kryptoeiendelsloven (MiCA)
• Kaupr - MiCA in the Nordics and Baltics: Who Has a Crypto Licence?
• Kaupr - Danish Penning acquires Lithuanian wealth manager Veli
• Kaupr - Crypto exchange Firi posts NOK 28m profit and targets Sweden

This article was prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence. The content was reviewed and edited by Toms Ābeltiņš. This article does not constitute investment advice.