MiCA One Year On: What Works and What Needs Fixing

MiCA one year on: what works and what needs fixing

Overview

After a year of MiCA, what is working and what needs revising? In this MERGE Madrid panel, moderated by Blockchain for Europe, BSV Association, Santander, Kraken, Chainalysis and an Austrian crypto broker take stock of the EU's first comprehensive crypto-asset regulation: the regulatory certainty it brings, licensing and passporting, the risks of fragmentation and the challenge of global competition.

What you'll learn

• What MiCA brings: regulatory certainty, consumer protection and legitimacy for the sector
• For regulated entities: how it opens a new asset class to banks like Santander
• Licensing and passporting: the experience with the CASP license and its use across countries
• Fragmentation: why different regulators interpret MiCA differently
• The data: euro stablecoins rising and illicit activity very small, according to Chainalysis
• The global challenge: MiCA versus the Genius Act and why (not yet) reopen the regulation

Session summary

What MiCA brings: the panel agrees that MiCA provides regulatory certainty and consumer protection; BSV Association values the trust framework (with its own white paper on the way) and Santander stresses that, as a regulated entity, MiCA lets it offer a new asset class to its clients.

Licensing and new products: Kraken explains how MiCA completes a framework that already included other licenses and lets it accelerate products (API integration for banks, crypto baskets, tokenized stocks), with a clear “rule book” and registrations with ESMA.

Fragmentation and a level playing field: the Austrian broker warns that MiCA “is not the same everywhere”: different national regulators interpret it differently and practical problems persist, such as the difficulty for regulated crypto firms to open bank accounts.

The data: Chainalysis describes the entry of traditional-finance players, the strong growth of euro stablecoins and real-time data-driven supervision; it recalls that illicit activity is now a very small share of crypto usage.

Security and trust: it discusses MiCA's cybersecurity component and cases such as a large exchange hack resolved without harming clients, along with still-open questions such as what counts as inside information in crypto, the assessment of white papers and MiCA's interaction with DORA.

The global challenge: it debates how MiCA put Europe ahead, but now the US is advancing with the Genius Act; the panel calls for not reopening MiCA (“MiCA 2.0”) yet, giving time to the transition and the data, and seeking global harmonization and more education.

Watch the full talk

Watch the full recording on MERGE's YouTube channel, with BSV Association, Santander, Kraken and Chainalysis on MiCA one year on.

FAQs

What is MiCA?
It is the European Union's markets in crypto-assets regulation, the first comprehensive framework that brings clear rules and regulatory certainty to the sector.

What works best, according to the panel?
Regulatory certainty, consumer protection and the ability for regulated entities to offer crypto-assets under a common “rule book”.

What needs improving?
According to the panel, avoiding fragmentation between national regulators, resolving practical questions (white papers, inside information, DORA) and moving toward global harmonization.

Is this legal advice?
No. This content is informational and summarizes what was presented in the panel; it does not constitute legal or investment advice. Consult a professional for your specific situation.