MiCA authorisation for non-EU crypto companies

A non-EU crypto business serving EU clients needs CASP authorisation under MiCA, which means an EU entity with effective management in the EU, capital by service class, and an application through one member state's regulator that then passports across the EEA. The decisions that determine cost and speed are made before the filing: which member state, what group structure, and how the evidence pack is built. That front half is our work; the regulator-facing filing is done by EU local counsel we manage.

What the work covers

Whether you are caught, and how. Which of your services are crypto-asset services under MiCA, and whether restructuring the EU offering changes the class you need. The comparison with Dubai is on the site: MiCA vs VARA.
Member-state selection. Regulator capacity, processing record, substance expectations and language, run against your product and markets. The register is public and uneven; where you file materially changes your experience.
Group structure. The EU entity placed correctly against your existing Dubai, India or US structure, with effective management, directors and substance where the regulation requires them.
The application programme. The readiness gap assessment from our CASP checklist, the policy and governance set, the capital route (own funds or the insurance alternative), and the evidence pack, sequenced for the 40-working-day assessment clock.
EU local counsel, managed. The regulator-facing filings are made by counsel in the chosen member state. We select, brief and manage them, so you run one programme, not three advisers.

How the engagement runs

Stage one is the perimeter and member-state analysis, fixed scope, standing on its own: you leave with a defensible answer on whether you need authorisation and where to seek it. Stage two is the application programme. Both are scoped on a free discovery call, and EU counsel costs are quoted transparently alongside ours.

Frequently asked questions

Does a non-EU crypto company need MiCA authorisation to serve EU clients?

If you provide crypto-asset services to clients in the EU, MiCA applies regardless of where your company sits, and the transitional period closed on 1 July 2026. Serving EU clients now means CASP authorisation through a member state's national competent authority, which in practice means an EU entity with effective management in the EU.

Which EU member state should we apply in?

It is a real choice, not a formality. Authorisation in one member state passports across the EEA, but member states differ in regulator capacity, processing experience, language and substance expectations, and several have effectively no authorised firms at all. We run the member-state selection against your product, your target markets and your group structure before anything is filed.

What does CASP authorisation require?

An EU entity with effective management in the EU, own-funds capital by service class that can be met with capital or an insurance policy, fit-and-proper management, and the governance, safeguarding and complaints frameworks the regulation prescribes. Once the file is complete, the substantive assessment runs on a 40-working-day clock, with stop-the-clock questions along the way.

Who actually files with the EU regulator?

EU local counsel in the chosen member state handles the regulator-facing filings. Infinilex runs everything around it: the jurisdiction choice, the group structure, the application programme and the evidence pack, coordinated with your team and the local counsel we manage. You get one accountable adviser instead of coordinating three.

Next step

EU clients on the roadmap, or already on the books?

Tell us where the company sits, what it offers and who its EU users are. We will map whether MiCA catches it, which member state fits, and the realistic programme, before you brief anyone in Europe.

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MiCA authorisation for firms outside the EU.