The European MiCAR Regulation (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) provides the foundation for regulating crypto service providers. However, those who embark on the path toward regulation quickly realize that the real challenges extend far beyond the text of the law. The following five insights illustrate the practical hurdles and opportunities that come with implementation.
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1. Balancing Technology, Governance, and People
Regulation requires more than simply complying with formal requirements. Success depends on achieving a balanced interplay between technical infrastructure, organizational governance, and a qualified team.
Many projects fail because they either focus exclusively on a strong technical product without having the structures and processes to meet regulatory obligations, or they build extensive governance frameworks but lack a reliable technical setup and trained staff to put these into practice.
The key insight is that a regulated crypto company must rest on three essential pillars—technology, people, and governance—that function together seamlessly.
2. MiCAR Is Only the Beginning
The MiCAR license is often seen as a milestone, but it is by no means the end of the regulatory journey. Once obtained, it triggers additional obligations under other frameworks, in particular:
In practice, this means that most internal policies are shaped less by MiCAR itself and more by the demands of DORA and AML. Anyone focusing solely on MiCAR risks underestimating the broader regulatory obligations.
3. The Unexpected Challenge of Banking
One of the greatest practical hurdles is opening a bank account. For individuals this is routine, but for crypto companies it is often a months-long process marked by exhaustive checks or outright rejections.
Banks traditionally approach the crypto sector with skepticism, frequently requiring firms to be regulated before granting them an account. Yet at the same time, having a bank account is a prerequisite for obtaining a license. This “chicken-and-egg problem” can mean that securing a bank account takes nearly as long as the licensing process itself.
4. Overlaps and Uncertainties in the Legal Framework
Financial regulation is a web of overlapping laws. MiCAR does not exist in isolation but intersects with established frameworks such as PSD2 (Payment Services Directive) and MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive).
For companies, this creates legal gray areas and room for interpretation. Many questions cannot be resolved immediately but instead require ongoing dialogue with regulators, legal experts, and other market participants. The decisive factor is the ability to work constructively with these uncertainties and to shape solutions together with the regulatory environment.
5. A Global Market, Regional Regulation
Cryptocurrencies are global, but their regulation remains national or regional. MiCAR’s EU passporting mechanism enables operations across all member states, yet the European market represents only a fraction of global crypto activity.
Stablecoins like USDT, which dominate globally, highlight this discrepancy: they are central to the market but not regulated under MiCAR. Euro-denominated stablecoins exist, but they play a minor role by comparison.
This reality underscores that European regulation creates valuable harmonization within the internal market, but in global competition it is only one piece of the puzzle. Companies must navigate a dual reality—global markets on the one hand, regional regulation on the other.
Conclusion
The journey to becoming a regulated Crypto Asset Service Provider demonstrates that regulation means far more than adhering to a single framework. It is a complex process that simultaneously involves technology, people, organizational structures, and international market dynamics. MiCAR lays the foundation, but only when combined with additional rules, practical hurdles, and global market mechanisms does the full picture emerge.
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