Crypto exchanges 12.06: Bitcoin recovers to 63,500

Friday, 12 June 2026, in the Baltic and Nordic crypto sector was marked by a market recovery and the continued countdown to the end of the MiCA transition period. Bitcoin gained more than three percent and climbed to around USD 63,500, while exchanges in the region keep preparing for the end of the transition period, now just 18 days away.

Market: Bitcoin recovers to USD 63,500

After the mid-week decline, Friday brought a clear rebound. Bitcoin opened at around USD 63,553, some 3.4 percent higher than Thursday's opening price, and during US morning hours traded close to the USD 63,360 to 63,570 range. Ethereum opened at USD 1,671, around 3.2 percent above the previous day, and held above the USD 1,670 mark.

The recovery was driven mainly by macroeconomic and geopolitical factors rather than the crypto markets themselves. Investors responded to hopes of a de-escalation in US-Iran tensions and to softer inflation data, which revived appetite for risk assets. Attention remains fixed on the US Federal Reserve meeting on 17 and 18 June, whose outcome will largely set the mood for mid-summer. Until then, swings in both directions remain a plausible scenario.

MiCA: 18 days until the end of the transition period

The transition period of the European crypto-asset regulation MiCA is drawing to a close: 18 days remain until 30 June, and from 1 July every operator offering crypto-asset exchange, custody or other services in the European Union and the European Economic Area must hold a full Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) licence.

In this year's statement, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has stressed that firms without a licence must have wind-down plans that are genuinely operational and immediately executable. The aim of such plans is an orderly exit from the market without harm to clients, including by arranging the transfer of clients' crypto-assets to a licensed operator or to the user's own wallet. ESMA expects these plans to be fully implemented by the end of the transition period.

Estonia: legacy VASP licences lose their validity

In Estonia, attention is on how the old regime will end. The Estonian Financial Supervision Authority, Finantsinspektsioon, has confirmed that the previous virtual asset service provider (VASP) licences will cease to be valid after 1 July. Their holders must either move to a full MiCA CASP licence or wind down their operations.

This is a significant turning point for a country that has historically issued a very large number of VASP registrations. Full MiCA licences in Estonia have so far been granted to LHV Pank and Lightyear, while many smaller operators will have to choose between getting licensed and ceasing activity in the coming weeks.

Nordics: Firi and Safello change strategy

Competition among Nordic exchanges remains intense, and the two largest players are choosing different paths. Norway's Firi, the largest Nordic exchange with more than 400,000 users and holder of a MiCA licence since May, is continuing its expansion into Sweden, which becomes its third market after Norway and Denmark. Norway's transition period has been aligned with the European Economic Area's common 30 June deadline.

Sweden's Safello, with around 425,000 users and listed on Nasdaq First North, is instead shifting its focus from retail to institutional clients. In Finland, work also continues at Coinmotion, the first Finnish company with a FIN-FSA MiCA licence, as well as at Northcrypto, acquired by GreenMerc last November and already holding a MiCA licence.

Baltics: the circle of licensed operators grows

In the Baltic states the circle of licensed operators is gradually widening. Latvijas Banka has issued several CASP licences, including to TWINO Investments, Paybis Europe, Neverless and Backpack EU, positioning Latvia as a regulated entry point into the European single market. In Lithuania, where the national transition period ended back on 1 January, the payment service provider Coingate has moved to full MiCA supervision by the Bank of Lithuania. The MiCA passporting principle, which lets a single licence operate across the entire European Economic Area, is making cross-border moves by the region's exchanges the new normal.

What to watch in the coming days

Three things stay in focus over the next few days: possible final licensing announcements from the region's regulators before the 30 June deadline, updates to ESMA's interim CASP register, and the market's reaction to the upcoming US Federal Reserve meeting. Investors using Baltic or Nordic crypto exchanges are still advised to check their operator's MiCA licence status in the ESMA register or on the national regulator's list before the deadline arrives.

Sources

• ESMA - Statement on the end of transitional periods under MiCA (PDF)
• ESMA - Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) overview
• Finantsinspektsioon - The operating license in markets of crypto assets
• Latvijas Banka - Crypto-asset service providers
• Kaupr - MiCA in the Nordics and Baltics: Who Has a Crypto Licence?
• Kaupr - The battle for the crypto market in the Nordic region intensifies

This article was prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence. The content was verified and edited by Toms Ābeltiņš. It should not be considered investment advice.