Industry Consolidation Under Tight Standards
Spanish regulators have authorized cryptocurrency platform Venga to operate under the European Union’s landmark Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), making it one of fewer than 15 entities in the country to receive approval.
The approval by Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), comes as the transitional deadline took effect July 1. The implementation of MiCA forces digital asset firms operating under legacy national rules to either secure formal approval under the new regime or halt regulated services within the EU.
Industry experts warn that the hard deadline could disrupt an estimated 10 million crypto users across the trading bloc, forcing them to search for alternative compliant platforms as unapproved exchanges face a forced market exit.
The authorization allows Venga to passport its services across the 27-nation trading bloc under a single regulatory framework, according to a media statement. Michael Stroev, co-founder and chief executive officer of Venga, said the rigorous application process explains why only a tiny fraction of the region’s crypto firms have survived the transition.
While more than 3,000 crypto firms held localized virtual asset service provider (VASPs) registrations across the EU before MiCA’s rollout, only about 240 firms — roughly 8 percent — have secured full MiCA authorization, according to industry data. Fewer than 15 of those approved firms are in Spain.
“The reason is simple: MiCA is difficult and expensive,” Stroev said. “MiCA introduces regulatory standards that are much closer to traditional financial institutions than what the crypto industry has been used to.”
Stroev noted that regulators scrutinize everything from ownership structures and corporate governance to leadership suitability, risk frameworks, and the infrastructure of the products offered. He pointed to industry giants that failed to secure licenses in certain jurisdictions, such as Binance in Greece and Kucoin in Austria.
“Those companies probably approached MiCA in the wrong way: as a simple registration and not a licensing application, which would have required them to make multiple changes to their global organization and products offered in Europe,” Stroev said. “Neither was prepared for MiCA and did not fully commit to the licensing process, which should have been a transformational experience.”
The high standards initially appeared to favor traditional financial heavyweights. In Spain, the CNMV issued MiCA licenses to major banks including BBVA, Santander and CaixaBank ahead of native crypto firms. While some industry observers view this as a regulatory bias toward traditional lenders, Stroev characterized it as a reflection of institutional readiness.
“Banks have spent decades building governance, compliance, and risk management processes because they’ve always operated under strict regulation,” Stroev said. “Banks were generally better prepared because they had most of the preliminary checkboxes ticked … while most crypto companies in Europe had to build everything from scratch.”
As the transition period concludes, unapproved providers must suspend their regulated activities, transfer clients or exit European markets entirely. Remaining authorized platforms face continuous supervisory obligations, annual audits and regulatory oversight coordinated by the European Securities and Markets Authority.
Despite the steep compliance hurdles, Stroev maintained that the regulatory cull is necessary for long-term adoption.
“My opinion is that MiCA is exactly what the industry always needed,” Stroev said. “If crypto wants to become mainstream, European users need to know that companies are operating under clear rules and high standards.”
