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Crypto exchanges 30.06: last day before MiCA

Tuesday, 30 June, was the last day before MiCA is fully applied. From 1 July, unlicensed providers across the EEA lose the right to serve EU clients. Binance leaves the EU market, USDT disappears from regulated exchanges, while Coinmotion, Northcrypto, Firi, Coingate and Latvia’s licensed CASPs stay legal. Bitcoin near 59,000 dollars in extreme fear.

Toms Ābeltiņš

1 July 20266 min read

Tuesday 30 June: the last day before MiCA is fully applied. From 1 July, unlicensed exchanges can no longer serve EU clients. Binance leaves the EU market, USDT disappears from regulated exchanges, while regional CASPs stay legal. Only about 210 firms obtained a licence; 83 percent of platforms remain without one. Bitcoin near 59,000 dollars.

Tuesday, 30 June 2026, was the last day on which European crypto firms could operate under the old national regime. From 1 July, the full application of the MiCA regulation takes effect across the entire European Economic Area, and the transitional period ends definitively in all 30 countries. For users in the Baltics and the Nordics, it was the final chance to check whether their exchange had obtained a licence and would keep operating. In the background, the crypto market stayed cautious: Bitcoin traded near 59,000 to 60,000 dollars as it entered the new quarter in extreme fear.

The MiCA deadline has arrived

The MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation states 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, which let legacy platforms keep operating on a national registration, ended on 30 June, and the transitional provisions of Article 143 of MiCA lost their effect. From now on, any provider without a valid licence is in breach of EU law and must immediately cease services to European customers.

The numbers on the eve of the deadline remained stark. According to ESMA's interim register, around 204 firms had obtained full CASP authorisation (data as of 18 June), and in total only about 210 of the more than 1,200 firms that previously operated under national VASP registrations had managed to convert to a full MiCA licence. That means roughly 83 percent of former platforms met the deadline without a licence - some did not make it in time, some remained under review with no right to continue, and some quietly left the market. Germany has issued the most licences, followed by the Netherlands and France.

Binance leaves the EU market

The single biggest development on the eve of the deadline was the exit of Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, from Europe. On 24 June the company withdrew its MiCA application in Greece and, in the days before the deadline, told customers in France, Italy, Poland, Spain and other member states that from 1 July it would suspend most services - new orders, deposits, sign-ups and staking products. Binance plans its next licensing attempt in France, but any decision would come only after the deadline, leaving a gap during which the exchange remains locked out of the EU.

Binance stresses that customer funds remain safe and available for withdrawal throughout the wind-down. For users in the Baltics and the Nordics who use Binance, this means that after 1 July they must expect a reduced range of services and make a timely decision - either move to a regionally licensed exchange or transfer their funds to a self-custody wallet.

USDT disappears from EU exchanges

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. Tether, which issues the world's largest stablecoin USDT, never applied for the e-money-token authorisation MiCA requires, so USDT is no longer a compliant asset at any EU-regulated trading venue. Major exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken, Crypto.com and Binance, have already gradually removed USDT trading pairs from their European platforms. The change is estimated to affect around 17.5 billion dollars of USDT circulating in the EU.

By contrast, Circle's stablecoins USDC and the euro-denominated EURC, built to meet MiCA requirements, keep their place on European exchanges. For users in the Baltics and the Nordics, this means that on licensed platforms some of the usual USDT trading will be replaced with compliant alternatives, and before trading it is worth checking which stablecoins a given exchange still offers.

Regional exchanges that stay legal

While the large global platforms face uncertainty, several regional exchanges have already secured their place after the deadline. Finland's Coinmotion was one of the first CASPs authorised by FIN-FSA, back in September 2025, while the Finnish Northcrypto received its MiCA licence in November 2025. Norway's Firi, which with roughly 44 percent market share and several hundred thousand users is the largest crypto exchange in the Nordics, continues to operate under the Norwegian regime and is expanding into neighbouring markets. In Lithuania, Coingate and Robinhood Europe operate under permits issued by the Bank of Lithuania.

Latvia has strengthened its position 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. Among the global exchanges, Kraken and Gemini have also obtained EU authorisation, making them some of the main regulated options for Nordic and Baltic users. In Estonia the picture is the opposite - after stricter requirements, only a small number of local firms obtained full MiCA authorisation by the deadline.

Regulators urge users to check the licence

On the day of the deadline, the region's regulators once again urged users to make sure their exchange is included in the official CASP register. Latvijas Banka, Lietuvos bankas, Finland's Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) and ESMA maintain public lists where each provider's status can be checked within a few minutes. The message is unambiguous: after 1 July, using an unlicensed platform means transactions outside the EU legal framework and without consumer protection mechanisms. Lithuania has already said it will actively take action against unlicensed crypto firms.

Market backdrop: Bitcoin in extreme fear

Against the backdrop of the regulatory events, the crypto market stayed cautious on 30 June. Bitcoin traded near 59,000 to 60,000 dollars and over the past quarter is more than half below its October 2025 record above 126,000 dollars. The Fear & Greed sentiment index showed extreme fear, and demand for US-listed Bitcoin funds remained weak as the new quarter began. At the same time, the European Union has signalled that it will review whether the MiCA framework needs updating for a market reshaped by stablecoins and asset tokenisation.

What users should do

After the deadline, it is worth users in the region running a few simple checks. First, find out whether your exchange is in the official CASP register or has publicly announced obtaining a licence in an EU member state. Second, follow platform announcements about service changes and stablecoin availability. Third, if an exchange leaves the EU market, plan the transfer of funds to a licensed provider or a self-custody wallet in good time, rather than leaving it to the last minute.

MiCA aims to introduce uniform rules and greater consumer protection across the EU. For the Baltic and Nordic region, where several licensed regional exchanges already operate, this transition may prove less painful than elsewhere in Europe, but extra caution will serve users well in the first days of July.

Norriwire Briefing