MiCA is fully in force, but the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and national regulators are warning that crypto asset service providers operating without authorization must either secure licenses or wind down as transitional periods expire into 2026.

Under MiCA, licensed exchanges face capital, asset segregation, disclosure, and governance requirements that materially raise the cost of doing business.

After years of speculation about whether major crypto exchange KuCoin would be available to EU users, the wait is finally over.

KuCoin is officially MiCAR-compliant. It celebrated this significant achievement with a VIP gala at the iconic Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria, on Wednesday night.

The fully MiCAR-regulated crypto trading platform has opened its doors to a massive number of users now that it is available in 29 European Economic Area markets.

The team explained that KuCoin EU users will have access to EUR deposits and withdrawals, spot trading, and local customer support, among other services.

They plan to offer campaigns and features exclusive to the region.

This is a notable advance, both for the company and for its users.

With this move, KuCoin EU has met the union’s regulatory standards. More precisely, it is licensed as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) and is supervised by Austria’s Financial Market Authority (FMA).

“Over the past months, our teams have worked meticulously to design a platform that meets Europe’s regulatory expectations in full, while still delivering the performance, reliability, and user experience that modern crypto users expect,” said Managing Director Christian Niedermueller.

However, he adds that this is just “the starting point.”

Now that the platform has established a solid regulatory foundation, Niedermueller said, KuCoin will move into “a long-term role in shaping a trusted digital asset ecosystem across Europe.”

This, he suggests, they can accomplish by adapting to regional needs and paying attention to what local users have to say.

Also, KuCoin CEO BC Wong added that the team chose Austria as KuCoin EU’s base. This is due to “its clear and forward-looking regulatory framework, which provides a strong foundation for operating responsibly and sustainably across Europe.”