MiCA-Licensed Crypto Exchanges
Live EU Status Tracker
Which exchanges hold a MiCA licence right now, which don’t, and what changed — checked against the public ESMA register. We update the log below whenever the EU landscape moves.
Short answer: As of 18 August 2026, the major MiCA-licensed exchanges open to EU users are Kraken, Coinbase, OKX, Crypto.com, Bybit EU GmbH, Bitpanda, Bitvavo and KuCoin EU. Binance is not on the ESMA register — it withdrew its MiCA application on 24 June 2026 and suspended new EU services on 1 July 2026. Existing Binance funds remain withdrawable.
Licence Status by Exchange
MiCA licences are held by specific EU legal entities, not by global brands. If you are in the EEA, make sure you are onboarded to the licensed EU entity named below — the global platform of the same brand may not be authorised to serve you.
| Exchange | Licensed EU entity | Regulator | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraken | Payward Europe Solutions Ltd | Central Bank of Ireland | ● Licensed |
| Coinbase | Coinbase Luxembourg S.A. | CSSF (Luxembourg) | ● Licensed |
| OKX | OKX Europe Ltd | MFSA (Malta) | ● Licensed |
| Crypto.com | Foris DAX MT Ltd | MFSA (Malta) | ● Licensed |
| Bybit | Bybit EU GmbH | FMA (Austria) | ● Licensed (EU entity only) |
| Bitpanda | Bitpanda GmbH (+ MT/DE entities) | FMA / MFSA / BaFin | ● Licensed |
| Bitvavo | Bitvavo B.V. | AFM (Netherlands) | ● Licensed |
| KuCoin | KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH | FMA (Austria) | ● Licensed, not operating FMA still bars it from commencing business |
| Binance | — | — | ○ Not licensed (application withdrawn) |
Source: the public ESMA CASP register, pulled and re-checked on 18 August 2026. Country-by-country availability can vary during the EEA passporting rollout — always confirm on the exchange’s official EU page. The global Bybit and KuCoin platforms are not on the register; only their named EU entities are.
Binance: What Happened
Binance withdrew its MiCA licence application (filed in Greece) on 24 June 2026 and entered 1 July without EU authorisation — it was not rejected and holds no revoked licence. Since 1 July 2026, new spot trading, deposits and sign-ups are suspended for EU residents; existing funds remain safe and withdrawable. Binance has said it plans to re-apply through France. Full plain-English breakdown: Binance EU suspension explained.
Which Licensed Exchange Is Cheapest for You?
Licence status tells you where you can trade — not what it costs. Base spot fees range from about 0.10% (Kraken Pro, OKX, Bybit EU) to up to 0.60% (Coinbase Advanced), so the same $5,000/month of market orders can cost roughly $60/year on one licensed venue and about $360/year on another. The cheapest choice depends on your volume, order style and product mix.
Reader deal (affiliate): Bybit onboards EU users through MiCA-licensed Bybit EU GmbH (availability varies by country). Referral code PCNVIP unlocks deposit rewards — sign up on Bybit →. We may earn a commission at no cost to you. We have no partnership with the other exchanges in the table.
Update Log
Regulation-focused log. For listings, deals and everything else: all crypto updates.
18 August 2026 — Register re-checked: no status changed
We pulled the ESMA CASP register again and compared every exchange on this page against it. Nothing changed since 8 July — no new licence, no withdrawal, no new warning. Binance is still absent from the register, and a French re-application could not be verified in any official source (pending applications are not published, so absence is not proof either way). Bitget’s Austrian application, filed 17 June, is still pending: a search of the FMA’s own site returns no Bitget entry, and the FMA does publish authorisations when it grants them. MEXC remains the only exchange here on the non-compliant warning list, unchanged since the Dutch AFM entry of September 2025.
18 August 2026 — Correction: KuCoin is licensed but still not operating
This page previously listed KuCoin simply as licensed, which was misleading. There were two separate Austrian measures: a prohibition on commencing business (18 February 2026) and a new-business ban (19 February 2026). The new-business ban was lifted on 18 May 2026, but the prohibition on commencing business remains in force — the FMA cites outstanding governance requirements and unfilled key management functions. KuCoin EU has not started operating, so you cannot open an account there today. The table above now says so.
8 July 2026 — Tracker launched; register re-checked
All eight exchanges above confirmed on the public ESMA register; Binance not listed. The suspension is in effect across EU markets including France, Italy, Poland and Spain — French users alone were estimated at ~2 million. Licensed venues now carry roughly 83% of European trading volume (The Block, June 2026 data).
3 July 2026 — Binance pushes back, points to France
Binance publicly defended its position (“MiCA should be judged by who it licenses, not who it excludes” — via CoinDesk) and reiterated plans to seek authorisation again, with France named as the intended route. No new application appears on the register yet.
1 July 2026 — Binance EU suspension takes effect
New spot trading, deposits, sign-ups and Earn products halted for EU residents. Withdrawals remain open — an orderly wind-down, not a shutdown. Only 244 of more than 3,000 crypto firms operating in Europe obtained MiCA authorisation by the deadline (The Block).
24 June 2026 — Binance withdraws its MiCA application
Binance withdrew its application in Greece days before the transitional deadline, choosing to exit rather than operate unlicensed. This set the 1 July suspension in motion.
A Licence Is Not Automatically a Trading Platform
MiCA authorisations are granted per service, and operating a trading platform is its own permission. Of the 335 entries currently on the ESMA register, only 21 carry it. Among the exchanges on this page, Kraken (through Payward Global Solutions), OKX and Bitvavo hold a trading-platform permission; Coinbase, Crypto.com, Bybit, Bitpanda and KuCoin do not — they operate under custody, exchange and order-execution permissions instead. In practice this rarely changes what you can do as a retail user, but it is the kind of distinction worth knowing before you assume every licensed venue is licensed for the same things. Always check the service list on an entity’s own register entry rather than the headline word “licensed”.
FAQ
Sources & Methodology
Licence data reflects the public ESMA MiCA register (esma.europa.eu), re-checked 18 August 2026. Market-share and authorisation-count figures: The Block (“Europe’s MiCA crypto regime is fully in force”). Binance statements: CoinDesk coverage, 26 June and 3 July 2026. Bybit EU GmbH authorisation: FMA Austria (fma.gv.at). This page tracks exchange licence status only; it is not legal or financial advice. Fee context uses published base-tier schedules — see the fee calculator methodology for details.