MiCA explainer

Norway's MiCA Transition 01.09.2026: CASP Licence Map

An explanatory article, not daily news: in the last 24 hours, there have been no clearly datable new developments in our segment. Therefore, we are reviewing the status of the MiCA transition in Norway as of 1st September 2026 – the only EEA country in the region to implement MiCA with a delay – and which exchanges have already obtained CASP authorisation.

Toms Ābeltiņš

1 September 20266 min read

In the last 24 hours, there have been no independently verifiable new developments in our segment, so we are offering an explanatory article. Norway implemented MiCA with a delay: the transitional regime was extended until 30th June 2026, and by summer, TÝR Markets, Firi, K33, NBX, and Bare Bitcoin had received authorisations from Finanstilsynet. With a dated licence map and a watchlist.

Why an explanation today, not daily news

In the last 24 hours, there have been no clearly datable, independently verifiable new developments in our segment – crypto exchanges and CASPs serving the Baltic and Nordic markets, hardware wallets, crypto cards, and tax tools – that could honestly be presented as fresh news. Several search results initially appeared promising but turned out to be older than their headlines suggested (for example, reports on Norway's transition deadline and individual exchanges' quarterly reports initially looked promising, but their actual publication dates were in 2025 or spring 2026). Therefore, today's release is an explanatory article, not a daily review.

The chosen topic is ongoing and relevant to the industry: the status of the MiCA transition in Norway as of 1st September this year – the only EEA country in our region to implement MiCA with a delay. All events mentioned below are dated; where an exact date is not publicly available, it is clearly indicated.

Why Norway is a special case

MiCA is a European Union regulation, but it also applies to European Economic Area (EEA) countries – Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. Unlike EU member states, where MiCA came into force directly, Norway had to implement the regulation through national law. The law firm Schjødt explained on 14th June 2024 that Norway was preparing the so-called Norwegian MiCA Act, which designates Finanstilsynet (the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway) as the competent supervisory authority. This need for national transposition created a time lag compared to EU member states, where the transitional regime concluded at the end of 2025 and the final deadline was 1st July 2026.

Transition deadline: from end of 2025 to 30th June 2026

Initially, Norway's transitional regime was set to end on 30th December 2025. As reported on 9th December 2025, Finanstilsynet recommended extending the transitional period by six months – until 30th June 2026. The reasoning was practical: the volume and complexity of MiCA Article 63 authorisation applications proved to be significantly greater than initially assumed, and several exchanges would not have been able to complete licensing by the original deadline. The extension allowed existing market participants to continue operating under national authorisations while their MiCA applications were being processed.

This means that the Norwegian segment reached the actual MiCA regime approximately two months after the rest of the EU. This article captures the situation as it stands approximately two months after the extended deadline.

CASP licence map: what has been approved

By summer 2026, Finanstilsynet had issued MiCA CASP authorisations to several Norwegian participants. According to a regional overview published by Kaupr on 3rd July 2026, TÝR Markets, Firi, K33, NBX, and Bare Bitcoin received approval in Norway in May–June 2026. The specific, individually confirmed steps are:

TÝR Markets – positioned as the first Norwegian crypto-native MiCA CASP exchange; Norriwire reported on this on 28th May 2026.
Firi – the largest crypto exchange by volume in the Nordics; the granting of its MiCA authorisation was reported on 26th May 2026. Firi operates in Norway and Denmark, with Sweden as its next market, and has also held an e-money licence under PSD2 since 2024. The exact date of Finanstilsynet's decision is not publicly specified.
NBX (Norwegian Block Exchange) – received its MiCA authorisation from Finanstilsynet on 30th June 2026, gaining access to the entire EEA through the passporting mechanism.

With this set of authorisations, Norway has transformed from a MiCA laggard into a market with several fully fledged exchanges capable of operating across the EEA. At the same time, it is important to note the context Norriwire reported on 22nd August 2026: the growth of the region's (Baltic and Nordic) CASP register has generally slowed, so the flow of new authorisations is no longer as rapid as immediately after the July deadline.

What this transition means for the market

For Norwegian participants, the MiCA passport removes the need for separate authorisations in each country and allows them to offer services across the entire EEA. In practice, this intensifies competition in the Nordics, where Firi, TÝR Markets, and NBX can now compete directly beyond Norway's borders. At the same time, several of these companies – particularly NBX and K33 – have also moved towards Bitcoin treasury and institutional services in the past year, so obtaining a licence does not always mean aggressive retail exchange growth. For users, the main practical consequence is clear: from 1st July 2026, a MiCA authorisation is a legal requirement for any exchange wishing to serve EU and EEA clients, and Norway is now operating under this regime.

Watchlist – what to check next

Finanstilsynet CASP list. Will new Norwegian authorisations appear in the autumn, or has growth stalled, as indicated by the overall regional picture at the end of August?
Cross-border passporting notifications. How many EU CASPs officially announce the provision of services in Norway, and how many Norwegian exchanges announce services in the rest of the EEA?
Business model shift. Will NBX and K33 continue to move towards the treasury/institutional side, and what does this mean for retail competition with Firi?
Data hygiene in sources. In preparing this article, several headlines initially seemed fresh but were actually older; this is a reminder to always check the publication date before considering an event new.

Methodological note

This is an explanatory article, not a daily news review. It compiles publicly available, dated information up to 1st September 2026. Where a specific decision date is not publicly indicated (e.g., the exact date of Firi's authorisation), it is noted. Facts whose date could not be conclusively determined were not included in the article as news.

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