MiCA has applied without national transition periods since July 1, 2026. The ESMA register of October 7 lists 368 entries for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) without an end date, spread across 27 EU/EEA home states. Only a small share of their licenses covers investment decisions: 103 of 1,229 classified service permissions are for advice or portfolio management, or 8.38%.
What does that scarcity mean for investors? How does Europe's rulebook compare with the dollar network and an unfinished U.S. framework? And which evidence will show whether legal access turns into commercial value? Leonardo Larieira of Teroxx Research answers these questions in the new special report MiCA: From Permission to Mandate. The analysis cutoff is October 13, 2026.
Europe has opened the door: MiCA gives providers a common service perimeter and a passport for cross-border distribution within their authorized scope.
368 entries, 1,229 permissions: The October 7 ESMA register spans 27 EU/EEA home states. Germany leads with 103 entries, followed by France (36), the Netherlands (28), Cyprus (24) and Malta (23).
Advice and portfolio management are scarce: 45 advice and 58 portfolio-management permissions make up 8.38% of the total. Custody, transfers, execution and exchange account for 78.84%.
Seven U.S. groups hold EU licenses: Coinbase, Kraken, Robinhood including Bitstamp, Gemini, BitGo, Circle and Ripple have EU CASP permissions. None of their eight selected entities may advise, and only one offers portfolio management.
The dollar sets the scale: USD-linked stablecoins account for 99.49% of the $314.94 billion supply, euro stablecoins for 0.257%.
The verdict is conditional: Funded mandates, retained clients and entity-level economics will decide whether legal access becomes commercial value.
ESMA Register: Germany Leads in Entries, Cyprus in Service Depth
Germany has 4.29 times as many register entries as Cyprus but only 25% more permissions: 180 against 144. That works out at 1.75 permissions per German entry and 6.00 per Cypriot entry. The pattern is consistent with German banks and securities firms adding selected services for Digital Assets to an existing business, while specialists in Cyprus and Malta hold broader permissions. Neither count ranks supervisory quality or commercial success.
Why Crypto Advice and Portfolio Management Are Rare Under MiCA
Under MiCA Article 3(1)(24), advice means personalized recommendations. Article 3(1)(25) defines portfolio management as discretionary management under a client mandate. An advised client keeps the investment decision; a discretionary mandate delegates it within the agreed scope. Portfolio management appears on 58 of 368 entries (15.76%), advice on 45 (12.23%). Because one entry can hold both, the two figures cannot simply be added to count providers.
MiCA service permissions by category: advice and portfolio management together account for 103 of 1,229. Source: ESMA CASPS register, October 7, 2026; Teroxx Research classification.
Scarcity makes these permissions interesting, but delivery determines their value. Anyone choosing a provider should therefore look closely at suitability, investment competence, execution quality, conflicts of interest and the service actually on offer.
U.S. Crypto Firms Use MiCA While the Dollar Dominates Stablecoins
Five of the seven U.S. groups already had a selected EU entity by the end of 2025; Circle and Ripple followed in 2026. Their European permissions therefore predate the September 2026 Senate vote on the CLARITY Act. To understand the business behind those licenses, investors still need evidence of product uptake and revenue.
Commercially, Europe has to compete with the dollar network. According to an archived DefiLlama snapshot of September 24, stablecoin supply stood at $314.94 billion, of which $313.33 billion was linked to the U.S. dollar and $809 million to the euro. EURC and EURCV together make up 80.54% of the euro segment. Europe can offer a clearer statutory framework without displacing that network. For more on the market, read The State of Stablecoins Mid-Year 2026.
Stablecoin supply by peg currency: the U.S. dollar accounts for 99.49%, the euro for 0.257%. Source: archived DefiLlama API, September 24, 2026.
CLARITY Act, GENIUS Act and OCC Charters: How U.S. Institutions Operate
The House passed the CLARITY Act by 294 to 134 on July 17, 2025. On September 15, 2026, the Senate rejected cloture on the motion to proceed by 49 to 50, short of the 60 votes required. The vote was procedural, and the bill itself has not been rejected. Until Congress agrees on a text, U.S. institutions rely on other routes: the GENIUS Act for stablecoin issuers, a temporary SEC exemption for tokenized listed shares, a CFTC advance notice on retail commodity transactions in Digital Assets and OCC bank charters for custody.
The GENIUS Act became law on July 18, 2025. It takes effect 18 months after enactment, on January 18, 2027, or 120 days after the regulators issue qualifying final rules, whichever comes first.
Five Legal Boundaries Every MiCA Mandate Should Define
A CASP authorization is valid across the EU but covers only the services named in it (MiCA Article 59). Before committing capital, clients should see five boundaries:
Custody and investment decisions: Safekeeping (Articles 70 and 75) and suitability duties (Article 81) are separate obligations. A custody permission alone does not allow advice or portfolio management.
Tokenized financial instruments: MiCA excludes financial instruments, so a tokenized fund unit stays within investment-services and fund law.
E-money tokens and payments: Transferring e-money tokens (EMTs) for clients can be a payment service under PSD2.
Mandate, fund or ART: A pooled structure can fall under the AIFMD, and a basket token is not automatically an asset-referenced token.
Non-compliant stablecoins: Under ESMA's opinion of October 8, 2026, existing exposures may only be wound down in a strictly limited way, no later than three months after publication.
MiCA Timeline 2026 to 2028: Which Dates Bring New Duties
Over the next two years, applicable rules need to be kept apart from supervisory work and open proposals. The European Commission must report on MiCA under Article 140 by June 30, 2027; new rules do not follow automatically. The AMLR account restrictions apply from July 10, 2027. AMLA selects up to 40 high-risk cross-border entities in 2027 and begins direct supervision in 2028. The Council's MISP negotiating position of October 9, which targets direct ESMA supervision of significant cross-border CASPs, and the PSD3/PSR payments reform remain open legislative procedures.
Legal and supervisory calendar through 2028, sorted by legal status. Source: MiCA, AMLR, AMLA, EBA, ESMA, Council of the EU, GENIUS Act; Teroxx Research, cutoff October 13, 2026.
What MiCA Means for Investors
Europe's rulebook makes room for a narrower but credible proposition: advised and managed exposure to Digital Assets with a documented legal basis. A provider that combines the relevant permission with careful suitability assessment, segregated custody, transparent execution and competitive all-in costs can build that service. Further U.S. legislation could narrow Europe's relative advantage. Weak operations or high costs could erode it without any change in the law.
The full 36-page report also covers the register methodology, the service matrix of the U.S. groups, a GENIUS implementation tracker, three U.S. policy paths with observation tests through 2027 and the Teroxx entry in the register: eight service permissions, including advice and portfolio management, and 29 host states. For the market view, read our Market Pulse for October.
