EU Reviews Whether MiCA Crypto Rules should be Centralized Under ESMA

Europe is reviewing its crypto rules and deciding whether enforcement of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation should stay with each country or be handled centrally by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

MiCA, which began primarily in early 2025, was designed to provide all crypto companies in the EU with a uniform set of rules to follow.

However, as MiCA is put into practice, the differences between EU countries are becoming clear. Some countries have approved many crypto licenses, while others have only a few, raising concerns about uneven oversight and companies choosing the easiest rules to follow.

Boehnke Says Mica Framework is Strong but Faces Adoption Hurdles

According to Lewin Boehnke, chief strategy officer at Crypto Finance Group, MiCA’s framework is strong, particularly because it regulates intermediaries like custodians and service providers, rather than direct peer-to-peer crypto transactions.

However, Boehnke pointed out that unclear technical rules, such as MiCA’s requirements for custodians to return client assets “immediately, are slowing adoption for banks. He asked whether this means returning the crypto itself or if selling it and giving fiat is acceptable.

He also noted that Europe’s main challenge isn’t MiCA rules themselves, but that different countries are applying them differently. For instance, Germany has approved about 30 crypto licenses, mostly to banks, while Luxembourg has approved only three to major firms

ESMA Review Boosts Support for Centralized EU Crypto Rules

ESMA reviewed how Malta approved a crypto service provider and found that the regulator only met some of the expected standards. Because of these differences, some regulators and policymakers want ESMA to take over the supervision, creating a centralized system such as the U.S. SEC.

France, Austria, and Italy support giving ESMA more control, especially because some other EU countries have more lenient crypto rules.

According to Boehnke, supervision is more about efficiency than control. He noted that a unified approach and dealing directly with ESMA could reduce delays caused by coordination between different countries.