BitGo Offers Exchanges MiCA Access As Deadline Looms

Crypto custody firm BitGo has launched a crypto-as-a-service platform designed to help exchanges meet the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations.

With the EU’s July 1 deadline for MiCA compliance fast approaching, firms without MiCA licenses won’t be able to continue serving customers after that date.

In an X post, BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said that instead of leaving customers high and dry during licensing delays, firms that are “still waiting on approval, or [would] rather use licensed infrastructure than build it yourself, we can help keep you moving safely and compliantly.”

BitGo Europe is already MiCA-licensed through Germany’s BaFIN regulator, which oversees crypto exchanges, custodians, and token issuers, as well as stablecoin-related activities and investment products tied to cryptocurrencies. Its responsibilities include licensing firms, enforcing anti-money laundering (AML) rules, protecting consumers, and supervising compliance with financial regulations.

“Users shouldn’t be left scrambling because a platform is still waiting on approval,” Belshe said. “BitGo Europe is… built to support regulated custody, transfer, staking, and trading infrastructure across the EU.”

Using BitGo, exchanges and fintechs can connect to regulated onboarding, trading, custody, and wallets instead of building compliance systems in-house, while keeping control of their consumer-facing services and products.

Few are compliant

Of the more than 3,000 registered virtual asset service providers (VASPs) — as of 2024 — no more than 194 had qualified as MiCA Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) as of May 2026, according to global law firm Hogan Lovells.

“It is expected that around 75% of the pre-MiCA VASP population will lose its registration status as transitional periods expire,” the firm said. “On the one hand, this points to MiCA raising the compliance bar and wiping out those that do not fit the bill. However, there are valid concerns raised in relation to the cost of compliance, pricing out some of the smaller firms. MiCA, therefore, does not simply harmonise the market; it filters access to it. In practice, MiCA has favored established firms, with stronger players obtaining licences whilst smaller or less prepared operators exit the market.”

It’s not all small firms. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is likely to be refused a MiCA license by Greek authorities, leaving it without EU access.