Revolut, Blockchain.com, and the Swiss-based Bitcoin app Relai have all secured Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) licenses, the firms said on Thursday.
Already serving more than 65 million customers, Revolut said the MiCA license will allow it to "provide and market its comprehensive crypto-asset services across all 30 markets in the European Economic Area (EEA)." The London-based fintech, valued at over $45 billion earlier this year, launched a mobile app in March for users in the United Kingdom and EEA, allowing users to access its crypto exchange Revolut X.
While some firms offering access to digital asset services like trading could previously operate in Europe if they held a virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration from an EU or EEA country, after MiCA took effect at the end of last year, newly designated crypto-asset service providers, or CASPs, were expected to obtain a MiCA license. In many cases, the new regulatory framework gave CASPs a grace period of up to 18 months to secure the updated license.
Revolut secured its MiCA license from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. Blockchain.com obtained its license from the Maltese Financial Services Authority.
"With this regulatory clarity, we can scale our services across Europe, including secure digital asset custody, institutional-grade treasury tools, and localized products tailored to EU markets, thus ensuring a harmonized distribution of our services across all member states," Blockchain.com said in a statement from Thursday.
Swiss-based Bitcoin app Relai said the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) granted it the MiCA license.
"We're incredibly proud to be one of the first Bitcoin companies to get the MiCA license and are eager to expand to France first and Europe in a second step," Relai co-founder and CEO Julian Liniger said in a statement.
Other crypto firms which have secured MiCA licenses include Kraken , Gemini, and Bitvavo.
Stablecoin-focused Layer 1 blockchain Plasma also said on Thursday that its plan to expand its footprint in Europe is gaining traction. The firm said it has obtained a VASP license in Italy while also opening an office in Amsterdam. Applying for its MiCA license is in the works, Plasma also said.
Plasma launched its mainnet last month.