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Crypto exchanges 29.06: one day to MiCA

Monday before the MiCA deadline: one day left until 1 July. Binance enters July without an EU licence, while Firi, Coinmotion, Coingate and Robinhood stay legal. Around 210 firms have obtained a full CASP licence, but more than 80 percent of platforms remain without one and ten million users are looking for an alternative. Bitcoin keeps falling near 60,000 dollars.

Toms Ābeltiņš

30 June 20266 min read

Monday 29 June: one day until the MiCA deadline. Binance enters July without an EU licence, while Firi, Coinmotion, Coingate and Robinhood stay legal. Around 210 firms have a full CASP licence, but 80 percent of platforms remain without one. Bitcoin near 60,000 dollars in extreme fear.

Monday, 29 June 2026, was the last business day before the end of the European Union's MiCA transitional period. Only one day remained until the 1 July deadline, and time for final checks was running out fast for users in the Baltics and the Nordics. Market analysts estimated that more than ten million European users would be looking for a new platform in the coming days, as their current provider suspends operations. The world's largest crypto exchange, Binance, enters July without an EU licence, while regional providers with valid authorisations prepare to take over the vacated space. Bitcoin continued to fall on Monday and traded near 60,000 dollars, with the market still in extreme fear.

One day to the MiCA deadline

The MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation requires that, from 1 July, every crypto-asset service provider in the European Union and the European Economic Area must hold a formal CASP (Crypto-Asset Service Provider) licence in at least one member state. The transitional period allowed companies operating under national rules to continue until the deadline, or until their licence was granted or rejected. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has confirmed that the deadline will not be extended and that companies awaiting a decision will not be allowed to keep operating under a temporary or pending status.

Data published on Monday confirmed the already familiar picture: around 210 companies have obtained full CASP authorisation, while more than 80 percent of previously active platforms face the deadline without a licence. CoinDesk estimated on Monday that more than ten million European users could end up having to find a new exchange. Germany has issued the largest number of licences, followed by the Netherlands and France, while several member states have still not issued a single CASP authorisation. For non-compliance, MiCA provides administrative fines that, under Article 111, can reach 15 million euros or 12.5 percent of annual turnover, whichever is greater.

What it means for users in the Baltics and the Nordics

The Baltic and Nordic region is one of the highest-density crypto markets in Europe, so the outcome of this licensing round will directly affect thousands of users in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. In practice, this means that after 1 July unlicensed platforms will no longer be allowed to offer new trades, deposits and additional services to EU residents, although withdrawals usually remain available during the transition.

On the final day of the deadline, regulators in the region once again urged users to make sure that the exchange they use is included in the official CASP register. Latvijas Banka, the Bank of Lithuania, the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) and ESMA maintain public lists where the status of each service provider can be checked. The warning is unambiguous: after the deadline, using an unlicensed platform means transacting outside the EU's legal framework, without consumer protection mechanisms.

Binance enters July without an EU licence

Monday passed with Binance continuing its gradual withdrawal from the European market. In the preceding days, the company had directly informed clients in several EU countries that from 1 July it would suspend most services - new orders, deposits, sign-ups and staking products - because it had not managed to obtain a MiCA licence. On 24 June, Binance officially withdrew its MiCA application in Greece, a week after reports that the local regulator was preparing to reject it. According to market sources, the company now plans its next licensing attempt in France, although any decision would come only after the deadline.

Binance stresses that client funds remain safe and available for withdrawal, and reaffirms its intention to return to Europe within the coming months with a full licence. For Baltic and Nordic users of Binance, this means that on the remaining day they need to decide on an alternative - either moving to a regionally licensed exchange or transferring funds to a self-custody wallet.

Regional exchanges that remain legal

In contrast to the uncertainty surrounding the large global platforms, several regional exchanges have already secured their place after the deadline. Norway's Firi, with more than 400,000 users the largest crypto exchange in the Nordics, has received a MiCA licence from the Norwegian financial supervisory authority (Finanstilsynet) and is expanding into Sweden, its third market after Norway and Denmark. Finland's Coinmotion was the first CASP authorised by FIN-FSA, while Lithuania's Coingate and Robinhood Europe operate under authorisations issued by the Bank of Lithuania.

Lithuania has become one of the region's leading MiCA homes and has already announced that, from the start of next year, it will take action against unlicensed crypto firms. Latvia has rapidly established itself in recent months as a serious regional licensing hub: Latvijas Banka has issued several full MiCA CASP licences, including to Paybis, Nexdesk, Hodleris and Bleap. In Estonia the picture is the opposite - after stricter requirements, only a small number of local companies obtained full MiCA authorisation by the deadline, marking a sharp reversal from the earlier VASP regime.

The stablecoin question

The transition affects not only exchanges but also stablecoins. MiCA requires stablecoin issuers to be authorised in the EU and to meet strict reserve and transparency requirements. At present, only some of the largest stablecoins meet these requirements - Circle's USDC and EURC are among the few fully compliant ones. The world's largest stablecoin, Tether's USDT, remains outside the EU's regulated markets, as the issuer has not applied for authorisation. For Baltic and Nordic users, this means that on licensed exchanges trading in certain stablecoins may be restricted or replaced with compliant alternatives.

Market backdrop on the eve of the deadline

Against the backdrop of regulatory events, the crypto market remained cautious on Monday and continued to move lower. Bitcoin traded near 60,000 dollars, down slightly over the past 24 hours. That is still more than half below the October 2025 record above 126,000 dollars. The Fear & Greed market sentiment index showed extreme fear.

The pressure was reinforced by outflows from US-listed Bitcoin funds. In the week ending 26 June, these funds saw a net outflow of around 1.79 billion dollars - one of the largest weekly figures since they launched in January 2024. At the same time, some positive signs appeared: on 23 June fund flows briefly turned positive with a net inflow of around 39 million dollars, suggesting that the pace of institutional selling may be slowly easing after several weeks.

What users should do before 1 July

On the final day before the deadline, it is worth the region's users running a few simple checks. First, find out whether the exchange they use is in the official CASP register or has at least publicly announced that it has obtained a licence in an EU member state. Second, pay attention to platform announcements about service changes after 1 July. Third, if an exchange leaves the EU market, plan in good time to move funds to a licensed service provider or a self-custody wallet, rather than leaving it to the last moment.

MiCA aims to introduce uniform rules and greater consumer protection across the EU, but the transitional phase creates some uncertainty in the short term. For the Baltic and Nordic region, where several licensed regional exchanges already operate, this transition could prove less painful than elsewhere in Europe.

Norriwire Briefing