EU targets MiCA loophole that lets crypto exchanges serve 27 countries with one license
The Council’s selective ESMA model would address part of MiCA’s cross-border supervision gap while retaining national oversight elsewhere. The post EU targets MiCA loophole that lets crypto exchanges serve 27 countries with one license appeared first on CryptoSlate.
EU finance ministers agreed to shift oversight of major crypto companies to a central watchdog, reshaping supervision under MiCA.
The Council of the European Union reached a political agreement on Oct. 9 to give the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) direct responsibility for the bloc's most significant crypto-asset service providers, as part of a wider package to integrate European financial markets.
The proposed overhaul addresses a weakness in the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which allows firms licensed in one member state to serve customers across the 27-country bloc while remaining primarily supervised by their home-country regulator.
The compromise, however, is considerably narrower than the European Commission's original plan to move all crypto service providers under ESMA. Officials estimate that only 10 to 15 of roughly 360 providers would qualify for centralized supervision, Reuters reported.
The agreement sets the Council's negotiating position rather than changing the law immediately. The Council must still negotiate the proposal with the European Parliament.
MiCA's passporting system was designed to provide crypto firms with a single route into the European market. Under the regulation, a provider authorized in one member state can offer approved services elsewhere in the EU without establishing a physical presence in every country it serves.
That arrangement reduces duplication for firms expanding across borders, but it also places considerable responsibility on the national authority issuing the initial approval. This is because a company's operations, client assets, and technology systems can grow well beyond the market where it was licensed.
The consequences emerged in a July 2025 ESMA review of the Malta Financial Services Authority's authorization of an unnamed crypto provider.
ESMA questioned why the company received approval while material issues remained unresolved. Its reviewers found insufficient evidence that the licensing assessment adequately addressed governance, potential conflicts of interest, technology infrastructure, custody arrangements and certain anti-money-laundering risks.