MiCA CASP authorisation, and how to verify one
Since MiCA took full effect for crypto-asset service providers, a firm serving the EEA needs authorisation from the competent authority of its home member state, and the transitional period for legacy national registrations has ended. The verifiable evidence is the authorisation itself: which authority granted it, for which of the ten crypto-asset services, and its entry in ESMA's public register. This page explains what the authorisation covers and how to check a counterparty's claim in minutes.
A MiCA CASP authorisation is what permits a firm to provide crypto-asset services in the European Economic Area. It replaced the patchwork of national VASP registrations, and — unlike several regimes we cover on these pages — it is an authorisation in the full sense: a regulator examined the firm and made a decision that is publicly recorded.
That makes verification unusually clean. It also makes the vague version of the claim — “MiCA-compliant”, “MiCA-ready”, “operating under MiCA” — unusually easy to see through.
Banking an authorised CASP, or assessing one? KwiikPay provides named GBP, EUR and USD accounts, FX and settlement to crypto-asset firms — regulated and compliant, with a written quote within one business day.
The claim worth testing is the checkable one
Marketing copy in this sector offers three grades of MiCA claim:
- “MiCA-authorised CASP” — a regulator’s decision. Checkable in a public register.
- “MiCA application submitted” — a fact about paperwork, not permissions. It means the firm may not yet provide the services it is describing to you.
- “MiCA-compliant” — a self-assessment. Nobody granted it, nobody records it, and nothing happens to a firm that claims it wrongly except to its counterparties.
Only the first one is a status. The other two are positioning. A counterparty file should record which grade of claim the firm actually made, in its own words — the choice of words is itself diligence information.
What the authorisation covers — and what it will not tell you
The authorisation names the specific crypto-asset services the firm may provide, from the ten MiCA defines — custody, operating a trading platform, crypto-for-funds and crypto-for-crypto exchange, order execution, placing, reception and transmission, advice, portfolio management, and transfer services.
So the real check is not “are they authorised” but “are they authorised for the service I need them to perform”. A CASP authorised for execution and custody is not thereby authorised to run a trading platform — the same shape of trap as a FINTRAC MSB registered for foreign exchange but not virtual currency.
What the register will not tell you: how the firm holds client assets in practice, how it screens counterparties, or whether its banking is stable. Those are questions for the firm, and the crispness of the answers is the diligence signal.
Authorised, and now you need the fiat side to work?
Authorisation does not come with an IBAN. Our MiCA CASP accounts page covers what a CASP actually needs from a banking partner, and exactly who we can onboard.
Talk to usHow to check an EEA counterparty, in order
- Get the legal entity name and home member state. Brands span entities; authorisations attach to exactly one.
- Ask which authority authorised it — BaFin, the AMF, the CSSF, CONSOB, the CNMV, whichever national competent authority governs its home state — and for which services.
- Verify against ESMA’s public register of authorised CASPs, and the home authority’s own register where it publishes one.
- Match the services in the register entry against what you are asking the firm to do.
- Check the entity is not on ESMA’s non-compliant or warning lists — the same body that records authorisations records the firms flagged for operating without one.
- Record the firm’s own wording. “Authorised”, “applied”, and “compliant” are three different sentences. Which one the firm chose tells you how it handles the easy claims — which is your best available predictor of how it handles the hard ones.
The transition is over
The grandfathering window that let legacy national-regime firms keep operating while their CASP applications were processed has closed — since 1 July 2026 the EEA status that matters is the CASP authorisation. Our VASP licence guide covers the term’s continuing life outside the EEA, where FATF’s vocabulary still applies.
For diligence, the consequence is simple: a firm serving EEA customers on the strength of a legacy national VASP registration is describing an arrangement that no longer authorises anything. The polite reading is that its website is out of date. Neither reading helps you.
Where KwiikPay stands
KwiikPay is a trading name of KWP Finance Limited, registered in Canada with FINTRAC as a money services business including dealing in virtual currency (registration C100000942), and with the Bank of Canada as a payment service provider under the Retail Payment Activities Act. We are not a CASP and do not provide crypto-asset services into the EEA under MiCA. We provide the fiat side — accounts, FX and settlement — to crypto-asset firms, through regulated banking and electronic money partners.
Same standard as everywhere on this site: the actual permission, the register it can be checked on, and no wording that invites you to assume more.
Work with a regulated and compliant partner
The eligibility check answers whether we can serve your business in four questions. Or tell us what you need and the right person will reply within one business day.
Talk to usFAQs
What is a MiCA CASP authorisation?
Authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, granted by the national competent authority of the firm's home member state. Once authorised, a CASP can passport its services across the EEA. The authorisation names the specific crypto-asset services the firm may provide, so two authorised CASPs can hold quite different permissions.
How do I check whether a firm is an authorised CASP?
Ask which authority authorised it and for which services, then verify against that authority's public record and ESMA's register of authorised CASPs. Check the legal entity name — not the brand — the services listed, and the home member state. A firm that answers with 'we are MiCA-compliant' rather than an authority and a register entry has not answered the question.
Is 'MiCA-compliant' the same as MiCA-authorised?
No, and the difference is the whole game. Authorisation is a decision by a regulator, recorded in a public register, and checkable by you. 'Compliant' is a self-assessment; anyone can claim it and nobody records it. The claim to test in diligence is always the checkable one.
What happened to national VASP registrations in the EU?
They were the transitional arrangement. MiCA allowed firms operating under pre-existing national regimes to continue during a grandfathering window while their CASP applications were processed, and member states were free to shorten that window. The transition has run its course — as of 1 July 2026 the term that matters in the EEA is CASP, and a firm still describing itself by a legacy national VASP registration for EEA business is describing the past.
What services can a CASP be authorised for?
MiCA defines ten crypto-asset services, including custody and administration, operation of a trading platform, exchange of crypto-assets for funds or other crypto-assets, execution of orders, placing, reception and transmission of orders, advice, portfolio management, and transfer services. The authorisation lists which of these the firm may provide. The diligence question is not 'are they authorised' but 'are they authorised for the service I need'.
Is KwiikPay a MiCA CASP?
No, and we do not present ourselves as one. KwiikPay is a trading name of KWP Finance Limited, registered in Canada with FINTRAC as a money services business including dealing in virtual currency, and with the Bank of Canada as a payment service provider under the Retail Payment Activities Act. We provide accounts, foreign exchange and settlement to crypto-asset firms; we do not provide crypto-asset services into the EEA under MiCA. If your authorisation requires specific counterparty permissions, raise it in due diligence and we will establish fit before either side spends time.