Following the update of the Interim Register of MiCA by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the number of encrypted asset service providers (CASP) approved within the EU increased to 331. The last six new institutions were all from the German cooperative banking system, and Germany ' s lead in the number of encryption licences in the EU was further expanded.

Six new families from Germany.

In comparison to the August 12 edition, the six new institutions are Raiffeisenbank Aidlingen, Ihre Volksbank, VR Bank Mittelfranken Mitte, Volksbank Euskirchen, VR Bank Ried Überwald and Volksbank Backnang.

According to the latest registration data, the number of German-owned CASPs is twice as high as that of France. France currently ranks second in 35 and the Netherlands is next in 29.

Increase after July

The MiCA transition arrangements ended on 1 July 2026, but the issuance of licence plates did not stop. ESMA data show that on June 29, the EU had a valid MiCA licence plate of 244, and by July 23, it had increased to 309, and now it has reached 331.

In a previous round of updates in July, four German institutions also entered the Register, including Raiffeisenbank Falkenstein Wörth, Spar und Kreditbank Rheinstein, VR Bank Augsburg Ostallgäu and JTtechnologies. During the same period, the Belgian subsidiary of the Melon Bank in New York was also authorized to provide secure hosting and transfer services.

Cooperative banks began to access retail encryption.

The German cooperative banking system has expanded not only in the number of licences, but also in its encryption services for retail customers. In July, it was reported that the DZ Bank had gradually entered the network through cooperative banks and that clients could buy and sell digital assets directly within existing banking relationships without having to open separate exchange accounts.

DZ Bank was approved by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany (BaFin) in January of this year in the framework of the MiCA to launch the MeinKrypto platform. This service, which initially supported Bitcoin, Ethera, Latco and Cardano, was hosted by Boerse Stuttgart Digital.

This means that some German banks are integrating encrypted transactions into the original financial services system, rather than leaving them entirely to an independent encryption platform.

Germany's lead is related to the established regulatory base.

BaFin had previously indicated that Germany had a higher number of MICA authorizations, partly because of the size of its financial system and the higher number of credit institutions that were qualified to provide encryption services.

Another reason is the inclusion of encrypted hosting in regulated financial services in Germany prior to the full implementation of the MiCA. For agencies that would otherwise operate under the national framework, a more simplified procedure could be applied to some applications when moving to the EU Uniform Rules.

MiCA established the EU Unified Delegation System. Once approved by the competent national authorities, the institution can rely on the “passport mechanism” for the provision of related services to other member States once the notification procedure has been completed.

Additional information:Except for the CASP registry, which continues to expand, there has been little change in the ESMA other MiCA list. The asset reference currency register remained empty, the electronic currency register was maintained at 43 and the list of non-compliant entities remained at 167. ESMA has also shifted its focus from licensing to licensing, including operational resilience, hosting controls, key management, accident response and third-party service risk.