Standard Chartered Secures MiCA License as ESMA Adds 37 New Crypto Firms

Standard Chartered secured its MiCA license, joining 37 firms added to the latest register update from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Licensed crypto providers in the EU now total 280.

The batch is the first major licensing wave since MiCA’s transitional period closed on July 1. Grandfathered firms that missed the deadline can no longer serve EU clients under national rules.

First MiCA License Wave After the Transition Deadline

ESMA refreshes its interim register weekly. The latest update lists 280 authorized crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), 37 more than the previous file.

The timing explains the jump. MiCA’s Article 143 grandfathering clause let firms keep operating under national rules only until July 1, so this update captures the deadline scramble.

The new entrants also span both sides of finance. Crypto-native firms such as US prime broker FalconX and Sygnum Europe won CASP status, while Crédit Agricole’s CACEIS entered the register for e-money token issuers.

The MiCA transition period had already redrawn parts of the market before the register caught up. Most visibly, Tether’s EU delistings handed stablecoin ground to Circle.

Standard Chartered Swaps National Rules for an EU Passport

Standard Chartered announced both a MiCA authorization and an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license through Standard Chartered Luxembourg S.A.

The bank opened that entity in 2025 to bring its digital asset custody business into the EU. Until now, however, it operated under the CSSF’s national virtual asset service provider regime, confined to Luxembourg.

Full MiCA status lifts that ceiling. The bank plans a phased rollout across the EU, with passporting subject to further approvals, extending custody launches already live in Asia and the Middle East.

“We are delighted to have obtained our MiCA and EMI licences, which enables us to progressively expand services to clients across Europe. This landmark authorisation reflects our strategic choice of Luxembourg…” Laurent Marochini, CEO of Standard Chartered Luxembourg, said in the statement.

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Luxembourg has meanwhile become a favored MiCA gateway. Coinbase houses its EU license there, and Ripple secured a preliminary MiCA CASP license in the Grand Duchy.

Web3 Users Question the Banking Embrace

The approval did not draw universal praise, however, with some users welcoming the bank’s Web3 build-out but highlighting the contradiction in its treatment of crypto-earning customers contradictory.

Love to see @StanChart actively building in web3, however I found it a bit contradictory that some web3 users still get de-risked by them simply because they work in web3. A few months ago they closed my account because most of my income comes from crypto business and said I’d… https://t.co/AvU2pSneXe

— Lingling 🦅🟠$FF (@Lingersj) July 2, 2026

BeInCrypto could not independently verify the account details.

The contrast leaves an open question for MiCA’s next phase. Banks now hold licenses to serve crypto businesses across Europe, yet their retail risk policies may decide whether that access reaches the industry’s own participants.