MiCA & CASP glossary: key crypto regulation terms explained

Advice on crypto-assets (service h)

Providing advice on crypto-assets to clients.

One of the ten MiCA crypto-asset services. A CASP must be specifically authorised for each service it provides. "Advice" covers: Providing advice on crypto-assets to clients.

ART (asset-referenced token)

A token that tracks a basket of assets or currencies.

An asset-referenced token aims to keep a stable value by referencing several official currencies, commodities, crypto-assets, or a basket of them. MiCA regulates ARTs separately from other crypto-assets, with stricter issuer requirements.

CASP

A company licensed to provide crypto services under MiCA.

A Crypto-Asset Service Provider is a legal person authorised under MiCA to provide one or more of the ten defined crypto-asset services, such as custody, operating a trading platform, exchange, or order execution. Authorisation is granted and supervised by a national financial regulator. The ESMA register currently lists 367 authorised CASPs; the typical one holds 3.4 of the ten services, and none holds all ten.

CASP authorisation

The licence that lets a firm legally provide crypto services in the EU.

CASP authorisation is the formal licence a firm must hold to provide crypto-asset services to EU clients under MiCA. It is granted by a national competent authority for specific services, and is the thing this site lets you check for any given provider. The first authorisations were granted on 30 December 2024, the first day MiCA applied to service providers; 281 of the current 367 entries were added within the register's last 12 months of activity.

Crypto-asset white paper

The mandatory disclosure document for an offered crypto-asset.

Under MiCA, an issuer or offeror generally has to publish a crypto-asset white paper (a standardised disclosure document describing the asset, the project, the rights attached, and the risks) before offering it to the public or seeking admission to trading.

Custody & administration of crypto-assets (service a)

Providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients.

One of the ten MiCA crypto-asset services. A CASP must be specifically authorised for each service it provides. "Custody" covers: Providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients.

EEA (European Economic Area)

The EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

The European Economic Area extends the EU single market to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. MiCA applies across the EEA, so CASP authorisation and passporting cover these countries too (Switzerland is not in the EEA but is shown on the map for context).

EMT (e-money token)

A token pegged to a single official currency.

An electronic money token (e-money token) is a crypto-asset that keeps a stable value by referencing a single official currency, effectively a digital form of that currency. MiCA treats EMTs much like electronic money, with their own issuer rules.

ESMA

The EU authority that publishes the central CASP register.

The European Securities and Markets Authority is the EU body that coordinates supervision of financial markets across member states. It maintains the official public register of authorised crypto-asset service providers, which is the source of the data on this site (367 entries at the last check of the CASP Tracker Verification Protocol).

Exchange of crypto-assets for funds (service c)

Exchange of crypto-assets for funds (fiat currency).

One of the ten MiCA crypto-asset services. A CASP must be specifically authorised for each service it provides. "Crypto ↔ cash" covers: Exchange of crypto-assets for funds (fiat currency).

Exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets (service d)

Exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets.

One of the ten MiCA crypto-asset services. A CASP must be specifically authorised for each service it provides. "Crypto ↔ crypto" covers: Exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets.

Execution of orders on behalf of clients (service e)

Execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients.

One of the ten MiCA crypto-asset services. A CASP must be specifically authorised for each service it provides. "Order execution" covers: Execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients.

Home member state

The country whose regulator licensed and supervises the firm.

The home member state is the EU/EEA country where a CASP is authorised and which acts as its lead supervisor. On this site it is shown as the provider's home country and regulator; the choropleth map counts licences by home member state.

Host member state

A country a firm serves via passporting, not its home regulator.

A host member state is any EU/EEA country, other than its home, where a CASP provides services under the passporting right. These are the additional markets listed for a provider beyond its home country.

LEI (Legal Entity Identifier)

A unique 20-character code identifying the legal entity.

A Legal Entity Identifier is a globally unique 20-character alphanumeric code that identifies a distinct legal entity in financial transactions. We show each provider's LEI so you can verify the exact company behind a brand name in official registers.

MiCA

The EU's single rulebook for crypto-assets.

Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114) is the EU's comprehensive, directly-applicable framework for crypto-assets. It harmonises the rules across all member states so that a firm authorised in one EU/EEA country can serve clients in every other one under a single licence.

NCA (National Competent Authority)

The national regulator that licenses and supervises a CASP.

A National Competent Authority is the financial regulator in each EU/EEA country responsible for granting CASP authorisations and supervising providers, for example BaFin in Germany, the AMF in France, or the CNMV in Spain. The NCA of a firm's home country is its lead supervisor.

Operation of a trading platform (service b)

Operating a trading platform for crypto-assets.

One of the ten MiCA crypto-asset services. A CASP must be specifically authorised for each service it provides. "Trading platform" covers: Operating a trading platform for crypto-assets.

Passporting

One licence works across the whole EU/EEA.

Passporting is the right of a firm authorised in its home member state to provide its services in any other EU/EEA country without needing a separate licence there, after a notification procedure. It is used heavily in practice: the median CASP in the register passports into 10 EU/EEA markets, and the widest passport covers all 30.

Placing of crypto-assets (service f)

Placing of crypto-assets on behalf of an issuer or offeror.

One of the ten MiCA crypto-asset services. A CASP must be specifically authorised for each service it provides. "Placing" covers: Placing of crypto-assets on behalf of an issuer or offeror.

Portfolio management of crypto-assets (service i)

Managing portfolios of crypto-assets on behalf of clients.

One of the ten MiCA crypto-asset services. A CASP must be specifically authorised for each service it provides. "Portfolio mgmt" covers: Managing portfolios of crypto-assets on behalf of clients.

Reception & transmission of orders (service g)

Reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients.

One of the ten MiCA crypto-asset services. A CASP must be specifically authorised for each service it provides. "Order routing" covers: Reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients.

Reverse solicitation

The narrow exemption when an EU client approaches a non-EU firm entirely on their own initiative.

Reverse solicitation means a client in the EU requests a crypto-asset service from a third-country firm at their own exclusive initiative. Only in that case may the firm serve the client without a CASP authorisation, and only for that specific service. The firm must not market, advertise or otherwise solicit clients in the EU in any way (including through influencers or affiliates), or the exemption is lost. ESMA interprets this exception very narrowly, so it cannot be used by unlicensed exchanges as a way to keep actively serving EU customers.

Transfer services for crypto-assets (service j)

Providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients.

One of the ten MiCA crypto-asset services. A CASP must be specifically authorised for each service it provides. "Transfers" covers: Providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients.

Transition period

A grace window for existing firms to get a MiCA licence.

Each EU country could grant crypto firms that were already operating under national rules a transitional ("grandfathering") period to keep going while they apply for a CASP authorisation. As these windows close (by 1 July 2026 at the latest in the strictest reading), firms without a licence can no longer legally serve EU clients.

MiCA & CASP glossary

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