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MiCA CASP License Map: Status Update, May 6

Updated CASP license map and watchlist ahead of the 1 July MiCA deadline - no repackaged news, only precisely dated facts

Toms Ābeltiņš

6 May 20266 min read

There were no significant new developments in the Baltic and Nordic crypto exchange sector in the last 24 hours. This is an honestly dated status snapshot ahead of the 1 July MiCA deadline: a calendar, a country-by-country CASP license map, global exchange positioning, and a watchlist for the remaining weeks.

Why this article is a status snapshot, not a news brief

In the last 24 hours (May 5) there were no significant new regulatory or business developments in the Baltic and Nordic crypto exchange sector that could be confirmed with a precise publication date. So that the series' rhythm does not break and readers are not served repackaged older news as fresh, today's edition is a status snapshot: an updated CASP license map and a watchlist for the remaining weeks before the final MiCA transitional period deadline on 1 July 2026. All events mentioned are dated so it is clear what is context and what is recent.

Calendar: deadlines still ahead

Three key dates market participants need to track in the coming weeks:

1 July 2026 - end of the EU-wide MiCA transitional period. After this date, CASPs without a full MiCA license may no longer provide services to EU clients and must already have a wind-down plan in place (ESMA reminder from 17 April 2026).
28 July 2026 - ESMA guidelines on the knowledge and competence criteria for CASP staff (ESMA35-24871704-2922, adopted 28 January 2026) start to apply. This covers all licensed CASPs, not only new applicants.
Early 2027 - the first DAC8 reporting cycle (DAC8 entered into force on 1 January 2026, with crypto transaction data collection running throughout 2026).

CASP license map, early May 2026

Baltics:

Lithuania - full enforcement regime since 1 January 2026. The Bank of Lithuania is the sole competent regulator; the first CASP license was issued back in May 2025 to a firm holding a Category A financial broker permit. A public warning against Binance UAB for providing unauthorized derivatives services remains in force.
Latvia - the national transitional period ended on 30 December 2025. By that date, Latvijas Banka had issued the first two CASP licenses (BlockBen on 3 December 2025, Nexdesk in late December). The Latvian government continues work on a national fintech strategy; Latvia currently has around 140 fintech companies versus 270 in Lithuania and 260 in Estonia.
Estonia - Finantsinspektsioon is the sole CASP licensing and supervisory authority. VASP licenses issued under the previous FIU regime lose validity on 1 July 2026 with no automatic conversion; a full application to Finantsinspektsioon is required. Updated 2026 capital requirements: EUR 100,000 for Class 2 services, EUR 150,000 for trading platforms, EUR 250,000 for virtual currency transfers. LHV Bank continues to offer crypto trading in its mobile app via Bitstamp infrastructure.

Nordics:

Finland - the transitional period ended on 30 June 2025, one of the shortest in the EU. FIN-FSA is the competent authority. Finland's first CASP, Coinmotion, received its full license in July 2025, followed by Tesseract and Bittimaatti. Coinmotion has publicly announced plans to expand into Sweden and Norway.
Norway - in April 2026, Finanstilsynet formally extended the national transitional period to 30 June 2026 (or until an application is rejected), using the maximum window allowed under MiCA Article 143(3). The reasoning cited was the high number and complexity of applications. Norway's first MiCA-licensed CASP is AK Jensen Norway AS (license effective since 2 February 2026), a traditional financial services provider with AIFMD and MiFID licenses rather than a local crypto exchange player. Firi, NBX and other Norwegian exchanges remain in Finanstilsynet's application queue.
Sweden - an institutionally driven path via Nasdaq Stockholm: Bitwise's set of seven crypto ETPs is available in SEK, and Nordea offers a Bitcoin tracking ETP. Licensing of local crypto exchanges as CASPs remains a MiCA process through Finansinspektionen.
Denmark and Iceland - like Latvia and Norway, have chosen to use the full transitional window until 1 July 2026.

Global exchanges positioning in the EU market

Bybit, through Bybit EU, has received a MiCAR license from Austria's FMA, allowing it to offer regulated crypto services in 29 EEA countries. OKX has launched Spot Margin trading for EU/EEA clients, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Binance operates in the EU market through its Lithuanian entity while facing a warning from the Bank of Lithuania, and industry reports are discussing alternative member-state entry options.

Watchlist: what to track in the remaining weeks

Less than two months remain until the final deadline. Key checkpoints:

Whether Latvijas Banka, the Bank of Lithuania and Finantsinspektsioon will publish new CASP licenses before the end of June, and for which companies.
Whether any of the large Norwegian exchanges (Firi, NBX) will receive a MiCA license before the 30 June deadline.
Whether EBA and ESMA will publish further clarifications on wind-down plan requirements and the transfer of client assets to licensed CASPs.
Whether DAC8 data collection quality and system readiness for the first reporting cycle will meet requirements.

Summary for market participants

The recommendations for market participants remain unchanged: verify that your chosen service provider is on ESMA's Interim MiCA register or has already received a full CASP license; monitor national regulators' official registers; and for licensed CASPs, prepare in good time for the ESMA knowledge and competence guidelines taking effect on 28 July. We will update this status snapshot as soon as new dated developments emerge.

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