Ripple has received formal authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, known as MiCA.
Cointelegraph reported on July 6 that Ripple obtained a crypto-asset service provider, or CASP, license from Luxembourg’s financial regulator. The approval follows preliminary clearance in June. Combined with Ripple’s existing electronic money institution, or EMI, license, it gives the company a regulatory foundation to offer compliant crypto services across the European Economic Area, or EEA.
Cassie Craddock, Ripple’s managing director for the UK and Europe, said the CASP approval allows the company to expand in full compliance in the post-MiCA transition period.
The approval makes Ripple one of a small number of digital-asset companies with full MiCA authorization. Ripple said it now holds more than 75 regulatory licenses globally, including authorization from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority in January.
The license was granted just after the EU’s MiCA transition period ended on July 1. From that day, crypto firms in the bloc must either secure authorization or stop regulated services. The European Securities and Markets Authority recently added 37 companies, including Standard Chartered, FalconX and Sygnum Europe, to its register of authorized firms, bringing the total number of listed crypto-asset service providers to 280.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, withdrew its MiCA application in Greece ahead of the July 1 transition deadline. The company said it is pursuing authorization in other member states while taking steps to comply with EU rules. Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority has already begun enforcing MiCA, identifying six crypto-asset service providers operating without authorization and placing them on its list of unlicensed firms.
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