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Crypto Exchange News: Baltics & Nordics - 5 May 2026

ESMA reminds firms of the 1 July MiCA deadline, Lithuania enforces in full, Latvia issues two CASP licences, Norway extends transition

Toms Ābeltiņš

5 May 20266 min read

Key crypto exchange developments in the Baltics and Nordics from the previous day (4 May) and recent weeks: ESMA's statement on the end of the MiCA transition period, the Bank of Lithuania's warning to Binance, CASP licences issued by the Bank of Latvia, Estonia's VASP deadline, the FIN-FSA and Coinmotion model, Norway's Finanstilsynet extension, and rising competition from Firi and Bitwise.

Key developments on May 4

Over the past 24 hours, the crypto exchange sector across the Baltic and Nordic region has continued to be dominated by preparations for the end of the MiCA transitional period - the final deadline is 1 July 2026, by which every crypto-asset service provider in the EU must hold a MiCA licence or cease operations. With less than two months to go, exchanges, regulators and institutional players are making their final decisive moves.

ESMA reminder: licence or an orderly exit

In its statement on the end of the MiCA transitional periods, published on 17 April 2026, ESMA continues to actively remind the industry: after 1 July, any CASP operating in the EU market without a licence must have a ready, actionable wind-down plan - an orderly exit procedure that complies with AML/CFT requirements and does not cause disproportionate harm to clients. For licensed CASPs, ESMA reiterates the obligation to proactively migrate existing customers to a licensed environment and to apply strict onboarding procedures.

ESMA also urges consumers to check, before investing, whether their chosen service provider is registered in the ESMA Interim MiCA register. This warning is especially relevant for Baltic market participants, where a large number of firms with VASP status have historically operated and are now going through a transition.

Lithuania: the first country with full enforcement

Lithuania has become the first Baltic country to apply a full MiCA enforcement regime as of 1 January 2026. The Bank of Lithuania, as the main regulator, has announced that firms without a valid MiCA licence are no longer permitted on the market and risk fines, website blocking and criminal liability.

The Bank of Lithuania continues to maintain its warning against Binance UAB over the provision of unauthorised investment services. Binance is meanwhile reported to be working on an alternative route into the EU market via another member state.

Following the first CASP licence issued in May 2025 to a firm holding a category-A financial brokerage licence, Lithuania has positioned itself not as a "permissive hub" but rather as a "MiCA gateway" - aiming to attract firms willing to operate under high transparency and investor-protection standards.

Latvia: two CASP licences issued

In Latvia, the situation during the transitional period is more moderate. According to data from the Bank of Latvia's Supervision Committee, by December 2025 Latvia had issued two MiCA CASP licences: the first went to BlockBen on 3 December, and the second to Nexdesk in the second half of December. Latvia has fully applied the MiCA regulation since 30 December 2024, and the VASP regime has been replaced by the unified EU licensing system.

The Latvian government continues to work on a national fintech strategy aimed at bringing Latvia's fintech ecosystem closer to the level of Lithuania (around 270 companies) and Estonia (around 260 companies) - Latvia currently has approximately 140 fintech companies operating.

Estonia: VASP licences expire on 1 July

Estonia is undergoing a decisive transition. Finantsinspektsioon (the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority) has become the sole authority for CASP licensing and supervision. VASP licences previously issued by the FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit) remain valid only until 1 July 2026 - with no automatic conversion. Existing firms must submit an entirely new application to Finantsinspektsioon or be removed from the register.

Updated capital requirements for 2026 are EUR 100,000 for Class 2 services (exchange, custody), EUR 150,000 for Class 3 services (trading platforms), and EUR 250,000 for virtual currency transfer services.

LHV bank continues to offer crypto trading directly within its app, using Bitstamp infrastructure - one of the most successful examples of a traditional bank integrating with a crypto exchange in the entire region.

Finland: the Coinmotion and FIN-FSA model

Finland chose one of the shortest MiCA transitional periods in the EU - its transition period already ended on 30 June 2025. FIN-FSA, as the competent authority, supervises CASP licensing, and Coinmotion became the first Finnish company to receive a full CASP licence under MiCA in July 2025.

K33 Research's 2026 Finnish Crypto Adoption study confirms that 31% of Finnish crypto owners use Coinmotion as their primary access point to crypto - Finns clearly favour local exchanges over global alternatives. Coinmotion's expansion plans include the Swedish and Norwegian markets, for which it has been seeking country manager candidates over the past month.

Norway: Finanstilsynet extends the deadline to June

Norway's Finanstilsynet has formally decided to extend the national transitional period until 30 June 2026 (or until a licence application is rejected), aligning it with the EU-wide MiCA deadline. The reasoning is the high number and complexity of MiCA licence applications - many of which could not have been completed by the original deadline of 30 December 2025.

This extension uses the maximum transitional window permitted under MiCA Article 143(3) and is consistent with the approach chosen by France, Italy, Denmark, Iceland and Latvia.

Firi and rising Nordic competition

Firi still holds the position of the largest crypto exchange in the Nordics, with more than 400,000 verified users and roughly EUR 1 billion in annual trading volume. Firi CEO Thuc Hoang recently confirmed that the company's MiCA licence applications have been submitted in both Norway (its primary target) and Denmark.

At the same time, competition is intensifying: Bybit EU continues to expand its presence in the Nordic region following the MiCAR licence issued by Austria's FMA, which allows it to legally offer regulated crypto services across 29 EEA countries. OKX has launched Spot Margin trading for EU/EEA clients, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

Sweden: Bitwise ETP listing and institutional adoption

Bitwise's expansion in the Nordics continues - seven Bitwise crypto ETP products are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, giving Swedish investors regulated exposure to crypto risk denominated in SEK. This is part of a broader trend in which traditional Nordic financial players - including Nordea, which offers clients access to a Bitcoin-tracking ETP - are gradually integrating crypto products into mainstream offerings.

Summary for market participants

With less than two months left before the 1 July deadline, the key recommendations for market participants are: make sure your chosen service provider is listed in the ESMA Interim MiCA register or has already received a full CASP licence; if you use an exchange without a licence, monitor its wind-down announcements and move your assets to a licensed provider in good time; and keep track of the official registers maintained by national regulators (Bank of Lithuania, Bank of Latvia, Finantsinspektsioon, FIN-FSA, Finanstilsynet).

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