Checking a MiCA Compliance Claim in Five Minutes
Every European platform now claims MiCA compliance. What the claim means, which permission actually matters, and how to verify it.
Priya Raman · 2 min read
The phrase appears on nearly every European platform. It is a precise term with a defined meaning, and the meaning is checkable. The contrast worth drawing is with a platform supervised under a named regulator, where this is a requirement rather than a courtesy.
What authorisation actually requires
Capital proportionate to the activities. Client assets segregated from the firm’s own and not used by it. Management assessed as suitable. Complaint handling within defined timelines. Clear pricing and risk disclosure. And supervision by a named national authority.
Standard obligations for financial services, extended to crypto.
The permission that matters most
Authorisation is granted per service, not as a blanket approval. The listed services include custody and administration of crypto assets, operation of a trading platform, exchange for funds, exchange for other crypto assets, execution of orders, transfer services, advice and portfolio management.
A platform holds some subset, and the subset is public.
If a platform holds your balance between transactions, the permission that matters is custody and administration. Without it, your balance is not protected by the segregation rules, whatever else the platform is authorised for.
The five minute check
Ask which national competent authority authorised them, and for the registration number.
Look it up on that authority’s own register, not on the platform’s site.
Confirm the entity name matches the entity in your contract exactly. Group structures often differ.
Read the authorised services and compare against what the platform does for you.
What compliance does not guarantee
That the platform is well run, competitively priced, or unlikely to fail.
It guarantees a supervisory framework, minimum capital, and a defined position for client assets if it does fail. Meaningful, and narrower than the marketing suggests. Online retailers see this constantly, and a provider serving funds and family offices is the usual defence.
Stablecoins under the same framework
Coins referencing an asset or functioning as electronic money are covered by a separate regime with reserve, redemption and reporting requirements on issuers.
The practical consequence is that some stablecoins are available through authorised European venues and some are not, and the set changes. If your operations depend on a particular one, confirm continued support rather than assuming it.
The claim to be sceptical about
“MiCA compliant” with no authority named. Compliance is not self-certified. Either an authority has authorised the entity, in which case there is a register entry, or it has not. Verify rather than assume. a support channel with a named contact can be checked on a public register in about five minutes.
A platform that will not name its authority and number in writing has given you the answer.
Move any remaining funds to a wallet with a newly generated seed phrase before anything else. Then revoke token approvals, and report the incident to your local authorities and the exchange involved. Do not pay anyone who promises to "recover" your coins. That is a second scam, aimed at victims of the first.