MiCA compliance and CASP authorisation.
The transitional period has ended and ASF still cannot authorise. We tell you whether MiCA applies to you, what your token is in law, and how to get authorised without waiting for Romania.
Where Romania stands · 25 August 2026
The transitional period ended on 1 July 2026. ASF has said it is not designated as the competent authority for MiCA and cannot receive CASP applications, and the ESMA document of 11 August 2026 still lists Romania as pending designation. The obligation applies, the deadline has passed, the procedure has not opened. Read the full analysis of the CASP deadlock.
Art. 143(3), Art. 59 and Art. 93 MiCA
Which category are you in
You provide a crypto-asset service: custody, a trading platform, exchange, execution, placement, reception and transmission of orders, advice, portfolio management or transfer.
Art. 3(1)(16) and Art. 59 MiCA
You are offering a token to the public in the Union, or seeking its admission to trading.
Title II, Art. 4 to Art. 8 MiCA
You build Web3 infrastructure and do not know whether you are in scope. What decides it is who controls the assets and who answers to the user, not how you describe the product.
Art. 2(3) and (4), Art. 3(1)(16) MiCA
You run an already regulated business that is adding a crypto component.
Art. 59 and Art. 60 MiCA
Tool · in progress
Do I fall under MiCA? A decision tree over the crypto-asset services in Article 3(1)(16) and the exemptions in Article 4, answering in a few questions whether you need a CASP authorisation, a white paper, or neither.
Will be published under Legal tools
What we do
Applicability and classification
We establish whether you provide a regulated service and whether your token is an asset-referenced token, an e-money token or another crypto-asset. This is not optional groundwork: Article 8(4) requires the notification to be accompanied by the reasons why it is none of them.
White paper and notification
We draft the white paper to the content required by Article 6 and Annex I, prepare the marketing communications, and file the notification 20 working days before publication. Authorities give no prior approval, so the quality of the file is the only protection.
Authorisation in another Member State
We prepare the application and coordinate the procedure with local counsel in a Member State whose authority works, then the cross-border notification that opens the Romanian market. Substance and effective management have to be real there.
Preparing for the Romanian procedure
Governance, own funds, AML policies, custody and internal control, documented in advance, so you file on the first day ASF opens the procedure.
What we have already done
Legal nature of the token
Opinions classifying a token as an asset-referenced token, an e-money token or another crypto-asset, for crypto projects based in Romania and for issuers established outside the Union. Article 8(4) requires that reasoning as an annex to the notification.
Crypto-asset white paper
White papers for offers to the public and for admission to trading on CASP platforms, with the marketing communications that go with them.
Notification in Latvia
A white paper notified to the competent authority in Latvia for an issuer established outside the Union, with the home Member State determined under Article 3(1)(33)(c).
Who represents you
- Token classification, white papers and notifications for crypto projects
- Author, Treatise on Cybercrime
- Speaker on blockchain in criminal law, ERA
- Freezing of crypto-assets
- Crypto and MiCA compliance
- Co-author, Token qualification as security or utility tokens
- Commercial contracts and corporate structuring
- Technology and AI companies
Frequently asked questions
Does my company need a CASP authorisation?
Only if it actually provides one of the crypto-asset services listed in Article 3(1)(16). MiCA looks at the service supplied to the client, not at how the product is marketed, so a software provider that builds technology for an exchange is not in the same position as the exchange itself. Many firms that assume they need an authorisation do not. See which activities fall under the CASP regime.
Can I obtain the authorisation in another Member State and serve clients in Romania?
Yes, but not by sending a Romanian company’s file to a foreign regulator. The competent authority is the one in the home Member State, which for a CASP is where it has its registered office. What can be built is an entity in a Member State where the procedure is operational, which then serves the Romanian market under the cross-border regime. See how the cross-border route works.
What is my exposure if I operate without an authorisation after 1 July 2026?
MiCA prohibits the provision of crypto-asset services without an authorisation, and the fact that Romania has not finished its national framework does not extend the transitional period. ESMA stated in June 2026 that unauthorised providers must wind down in an orderly way rather than continue business as usual. MiCA expressly leaves criminal sanctions untouched, and AML obligations apply independently of any MiCA authorisation. See what ESMA expects of providers without an authorisation.
Is my token an asset-referenced token, an e-money token or another crypto-asset?
An e-money token seeks to maintain a stable value by reference to one official currency. An asset-referenced token seeks a stable value by reference to anything else, or to a combination, including several currencies. Everything else falls into the residual category governed by Title II. The classification decides the whole regime that follows, which is why Article 8(4) requires it to be reasoned in writing.
When is a crypto-asset white paper mandatory and what must it contain?
It is required for an offer to the public in the Union and for admission to trading, with the content set out in Article 6 and Annex I. It is not required for an offer to fewer than 150 persons per Member State, for an offer whose total value stays under one million euro over twelve months, or for an offer made only to qualified investors. Title II does not apply at all where the token is given away, is created as a reward for maintaining the ledger, or gives access to a good or service that already exists.
Do NFTs and utility tokens fall under MiCA?
MiCA does not apply to crypto-assets that are unique and non-fungible with other crypto-assets. Being labelled an NFT is not enough, and a large series issued as a collection is generally treated as fungible in substance. Utility tokens do fall under MiCA, with a narrow carve-out where the token gives access to a good or service that already exists and is in operation.
What AML obligations do I have alongside MiCA?
They are a separate layer. Law no. 129/2019, as amended by GEO no. 10/2025, applies to crypto-asset service providers together with Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 on the information accompanying transfers of funds and certain transfers of crypto-assets. Complying with those obligations does not mean you hold a MiCA authorisation, and holding one does not discharge them. See our money laundering practice.
Related areas
The deadline has passed. The procedure has not opened.
What you decide in the meantime is what a regulator will look at later.