News

Crypto exchanges 22.07: MiCA register hits 294 CASPs

On Wednesday, 22 July, Bitcoin opened about two percent higher near 66,500 dollars, but the gain did not hold and the price slipped back to around 65,900 dollars. There were no new regulatory authorisations in the Baltic and Nordic exchange landscape, yet the MiCA register keeps consolidating - around 294 licensed service providers, of which only about 14 may run trading platforms.

Toms Ābeltiņš

23 July 20266 min read

Wednesday, 22 July: Bitcoin opened about two percent higher near 66,500 dollars, but the gain did not hold, and by mid-morning the price had slipped back to around 65,900 dollars, slightly below the previous day, while Ethereum opened trading around 1,930 dollars. There were no new CASP authorisations in the Baltic and Nordic markets on Wednesday, but the picture keeps consolidating: in early July Latvijas Banka granted its tenth CASP licence (to Nodu Digital), and by 21 July the ESMA register held around 294 licensed service providers across twenty-six EU and EEA countries, of which only about 14 may run full trading platforms.

Wednesday, 22 July 2026, was a volatile day for the crypto market: Bitcoin opened about two percent higher near 66,500 dollars, but the gain did not hold, and by mid-morning the coin had slipped back to around 65,900 dollars, slightly below the previous day's level. Ethereum opened trading around 1,930 dollars. No new regulatory authorisations were announced in the Baltic and Nordic exchange landscape on Wednesday, so the main value of this review is the current state of the MiCA register after the 1 July transition deadline and a reminder of how the map of licensed exchanges has shifted across the region.

Market: a rally without staying power

Bitcoin first added about two percent on Wednesday morning, opening the day near 66,500 dollars, but buyer enthusiasm faded and the price returned to roughly 65,900 dollars. Compared with the previous morning, that is a modest drop of a few hundred dollars. Ethereum began the day around 1,930 dollars, about one and a half percent higher than Tuesday. Bitcoin's market capitalisation held near 1.33 trillion dollars, reinforcing its leading position, while Ethereum's capitalisation stood at around 233 billion dollars. For regional users, a day like this is a reminder that mid-summer trading tends to be choppy and that sharply opened rallies do not always hold their positions to the close, so leveraged trades remain risky.

Region: Latvia with its tenth CASP licence

The Baltic and Nordic markets passed the last day without new regulatory authorisations, yet the background picture keeps consolidating. Latvia retains its position as the region's licensing leader: in early July, Latvijas Banka granted its tenth MiCA CASP authorisation, to the company Nodu Digital, which at the same time also received a payment institution licence. Latvia's appeal is explained by the lowest registration threshold in the European Union, with an application fee of around 2,500 euros, which has also attracted international players such as the exchange Backpack. Lithuania, with service providers licensed under the supervision of the Bank of Lithuania, including Robinhood Europe and the payment gateway CoinGate, retains a strong fintech position, while Estonia continues to work on expanding its own CASP portfolio. Among the licensed Nordic exchanges are Norway's Firi, Sweden's Safello and the analytics group K33, while in Finland Coinmotion and Northcrypto operate under FIN-FSA authorisations.

MiCA register: 294 licensed service providers

After the close of the 1 July transition deadline, the MiCA picture keeps sharpening. In its mid-July update, ESMA added fourteen new CASPs to the register, and by 21 July the total number of licensed service providers had reached around 294 companies across twenty-six EU and EEA countries, able to passport their services throughout the bloc. Geographically, Germany leads with the largest number of licensed CASPs, followed by France and the Netherlands. It is important to keep in mind that only a small share of these companies, around fourteen, have received authorisation to run full trading platforms, as exchanges face the strictest approval process. For regional users, that means the range of legally operating exchanges is comparatively narrow, and before depositing funds it is worth confirming that the chosen platform genuinely appears in the ESMA register.

Watchlist: the Binance exclusion and its consequences

The most significant contextual point that continues to affect regional users is the exclusion of the world's largest exchange, Binance, from the European market. On 24 June, Binance withdrew its MiCA licence application, which had been filed with the Greek regulator, citing slow timelines and the absence of a formal decision. As a result, from 1 July EU users lost access to placing new spot orders, deposits, opening new accounts, as well as Earn and staking products, while withdrawals remain available for now. At the same time, several large international exchanges have strengthened their EU presence with valid authorisations: Coinbase through the Luxembourg regulator CSSF, Kraken through the Central Bank of Ireland and Bybit through the Austrian regulator. For regional users, this means that former Binance clients in the Baltics and the Nordics are gradually moving to licensed platforms, and this client migration strengthens competition in favour of local and regional exchanges.

What it means for users

For regional users, the Wednesday overview offers three conclusions. First, a volatile trading day with a sharply opened but unsustained rally near 66,000 dollars confirms that summer trading remains nervous, so planning with leveraged trades is especially risky in such conditions. Second, the MiCA register has reached around 294 licensed service providers, but only a small share of them may run trading platforms, so the basic safety criterion when choosing an exchange is a valid CASP authorisation rather than marketing promises. Third, Latvia, with ten CASP licences already granted, is reinforcing its regional leadership, which gives regional users a wider choice of legally operating platforms, while Binance's exclusion from the EU continues to steer clients toward regulated exchanges.

Norriwire Briefing