Regulatory news · European Union

ESMA tells unauthorised crypto firms to wind down EU operations as MiCA transition ends

By Mardo Soo, Founder & CEO, Consulting24 · Published 21 July 2026

ESMA has set out what crypto-asset service providers without a MiCA authorisation must do now that the transitional period has closed: stop onboarding EU clients, wind down in an orderly way, and keep AML controls running throughout.

The transitional period under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation ended on 1 July 2026. In a public statement issued on 23 June, the European Securities and Markets Authority set out how it expects crypto-asset service providers that did not obtain authorisation by that date to leave the EU market.

ESMA acknowledged that while a number of CASPs would be authorised in time, other entities, including significant providers servicing EU clients under national regimes, might not be.

What unauthorised CASPs must do

ESMA states that unauthorised CASPs must immediately stop onboarding new EU clients, refrain from opening new client relationships or accounts, and cease marketing activities and solicitation.

They must also limit services to the actions necessary to sell or transfer crypto-assets, reallocate assets, or close positions. Custody of client crypto-assets can only continue for the period strictly necessary to complete an orderly exit.

Firms are expected to communicate clearly, promptly and repeatedly with both retail and institutional clients about the measures taken to safeguard assets and about the wind-down plan itself, so clients know the timeline to dispose of, transfer, reallocate or close positions. Those communications should include a deadline after which any residual positions would be closed automatically.

AML obligations do not pause during wind-down

ESMA is explicit that wind-down arrangements must comply with all relevant EU and national conduct laws and with AML and CFT obligations. Firms should maintain effective controls throughout the process, including customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, screening against restrictive measures and sanctions lists, suspicious transaction and activity reporting, record-keeping, and crypto-asset transfer traceability obligations.

Where clients move to a MiCA-authorised CASP, ESMA says the onboarding provider should carry out all necessary onboarding procedures, including its own customer due diligence and any other required AML and CFT checks.

Non-EU providers and outsourcing

ESMA reminded CASPs established outside the EU that they cannot provide MiCA services to EU clients or solicit them, and that this applies in a business-to-business context as well. The only carve-out noted is the narrow reverse solicitation regime, where a service is provided strictly at the client's own exclusive initiative.

The statement also reminds firms that MiCA prohibits CASPs from outsourcing or delegating certain services, notably custody, to entities that are not themselves authorised as CASPs.

Supervision and enforcement

ESMA says it and the National Competent Authorities are directly engaged with the entities concerned and will coordinate to monitor whether significant unauthorised cross-border CASPs wind down without delay, working alongside the EBA and AMLA. Within the ESMA cooperation framework, NCAs may take coordinated action against unauthorised CASPs after the transitional period.

For clients, ESMA warns that customers of unauthorised providers do not benefit from MiCA safeguards, including protections for client assets, and invites them to check whether their provider appears in the ESMA Register.

What this means: if a business was relying on a national VASP registration to serve EU clients, that route is now closed, and the practical question is no longer whether to authorise but where. Consulting24 delivers CASP-track company and licensing work directly in Estonia and Lithuania, and the timeline that matters is the regulator's queue rather than the incorporation. Firms in wind-down should treat the AML obligations above as live requirements, not formalities, because they are the part supervisors can act on after the deadline has passed.

General guidance, not legal advice. Regulations change, and we confirm current requirements for your case.