MiCA explainer

MiCA Register 14.08.2026: Banks Overtake Exchanges

An explanation for the Baltic and Nordic segment: six weeks after the MiCA deadline, the ESMA register lists 321 CASPs, but new additions are driven by banks, not crypto exchanges. What this means for users in the region.

Toms Ābeltiņš

14 August 20267 min read

In the last 24 hours, there have been no new clearly dated events in our segment. Therefore, we offer an explanation on an ongoing topic: the MiCA register contains 321 CASPs (data as of early August), and recent updates are dominated by banks, not exchanges, thanks to Article 60 notification procedures. Includes a regional CASP map and watchlist.

Friday, 14th August 2026. This is an explainer (Watchlist/Explainer) format publication, not a daily news review. In the last 24 hours, there have been no clearly dated, significant new events in our segment – crypto exchanges and CASPs, hardware wallets, crypto cards, and tax tools serving the Baltics (LV, LT, EE) and Nordics (FI, SE, NO, DK). The latest crypto news in the region over the past few days primarily concerns exchange-listed Bitcoin treasury companies (e.g., Bitcoin Treasury Capital, H100, and Hilbert Group), which do not fall within our product segment. Therefore, today we offer an in-depth explanation of an ongoing topic with honestly dated context, rather than repackaging old events as fresh.

Why an explainer today, not daily news

Dating hygiene is a core principle of this series: an event can only be presented as 'yesterday's news' if its actual publication or effective date is within the last 24-48 hours. Currently, there is no such event in our four categories. We already covered Swedish exchange Safello's Q2 report and CEO commentary in the 12th August daily review, so we will not repeat it. Instead, we take this opportunity to provide an up-to-date view of the broader regulatory landscape six weeks after the MiCA transition period ended on 1st July 2026.

MiCA register one month after the deadline: 321 CASPs

According to the latest publicly available data, the MiCA register maintained by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) listed 321 authorised Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) across the European Economic Area at the beginning of August 2026. This number was reached after the fourth update since the 1st July deadline: on 31st July, 12 new entities were added to the register. The register is dynamic, so the total number may have increased since then; the precise current list should always be checked directly at the ESMA source.

Crucially, the geography of added companies remains concentrated in Western and Central Europe. The companies added in the late July update came from Germany, Spain, and France – including several German cooperative and regional banks – rather than from the Baltics or Nordics. This means that our region's CASP map has changed little since spring, and the register's growth in recent updates is driven by traditional financial institutions, not crypto exchanges.

Why banks are overtaking exchanges

This trend is not accidental; its cause lies in the structure of the MiCA regulation itself. Article 60 of the regulation allows already licensed credit institutions (banks) to provide crypto-asset services under a simplified procedure: a bank does not need to undergo full separate CASP authorisation but can instead provide prior notification to its competent supervisory authority within a specified period before commencing the service. Crypto-native exchanges, conversely, must go through a full authorisation process, including scrutiny of capital, governance, custody, and compliance requirements.

There are two practical consequences. On the one hand, banks can appear in the register relatively quickly, which explains why bank names dominate the additions in recent months. On the other hand, it changes the competitive landscape: users will increasingly be offered crypto services by a familiar bank rather than a specialised exchange. In the Baltics and Nordics, this direction is already illustrated by Estonia's LHV Bank, Denmark's Lunar (described as the first Nordic bank with a MiCA-related offering), and institutional players we have covered in previous articles.

What this means for Baltic and Nordic users

The regional CASP map, according to the latest publicly available compilation (Kaupr, 25th May) and the ESMA register, maintains the following picture, which should be taken as a guide, not an exhaustive list.

Latvia is one of the most active Baltic jurisdictions with several CASPs issued (including Paybis, Backpack EU, AlphaRoute, Bleap, Hodleris, and others, issued in spring and summer 2026). In Lithuania, licenses have been granted to names such as Robinhood (May 2025), Coingate (December 2025), and Myriad Capital (February 2026). Estonia, historically the largest VASP jurisdiction, has issued MiCA CASP authorisations cautiously – many applications are still undergoing a thorough evaluation process, and crypto services in the region are partly being taken over by the banking channel.

In the Nordics, Norway has licensed TÝR Markets and Firi (May 2026), and Sweden has licensed Safello, while Goobit/BTCX's application was rejected on 2nd July. Finland has Coinmotion (first in Finland, June 2025), Tesseract, Northcrypto, and Kvarn Capital, while Denmark has GCEX, Penning, and Northstake (first in the EU with regulated staking permission, April 2026). This data reflects the situation on the specified dates; each number may have changed, so it is advisable to check the ESMA register and the status of the respective company before making a decision.

Watchlist (ongoing stories, not fresh news)

These points are not news from the last 24 hours; we keep them under observation with precise previous dates.

Coldcard (Coinkite) incident: We followed the draining of funds caused by hardware wallet seed entropy errors in daily reviews on 2nd-4th August and the weekly review on 9th August. The regional conclusion remains unchanged: the risk is tied to specific Coldcard models and firmware versions, not to any Baltic or Nordic platform; affected seeds require migration to a new key.

Crypto card segment: Kraken launched a Mastercard network debit card in the EEA and UK on 14th July with up to 2% cashback in Bitcoin; the product is formally available to Baltic and Nordic EEA users, but a separate regional rollout has not yet been announced. No new information this week.

Swedish exchange segment: We are monitoring the rejection of Goobit/BTCX's MiCA application (2nd July) for a possible appeal or re-application; no new decisions this week.

Next ESMA register update: We are watching to see if any new Baltic or Nordic companies appear in future updates that would change the regional map.

Practical conclusions and next checkpoints

Firstly, regulatory compliance is becoming a key competitive argument, and it is increasingly offered by banks, not just specialised exchanges. For users, this expands choice but also requires vigilance: a service provider's 'bank' status does not in itself guarantee better conditions specifically for crypto services.

Secondly, before choosing a CASP, check its actual status in the ESMA MiCA register and in the publications of the relevant national regulator (Latvijas Banka, Lietuvos bankas, Estonia's Finantsinspektsioon, Finland's Finanssivalvonta, Sweden's Finansinspektionen, Norway's and Denmark's Finanstilsynet). The register is the only authoritative source, and it changes almost weekly.

Thirdly, for hardware wallet users, the reminder remains: check if your device model and firmware are affected by the Coldcard incident, and if necessary, migrate to a new, securely entropy-generated seed.

We will continue the series in a daily review format as soon as a clearly dated new event appears in our segment. Until then, an honest explanation is better than repackaging old events.

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