What is MiCA Article 59? (The prohibition on unauthorised CASP services)

What does it actually mean in practice?

The scope of the prohibition. Article 59 applies to any person providing crypto-asset services within the Union, meaning the EEA after extension to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. "Within the Union" includes services offered from inside the EEA and services solicited toward EEA residents from outside the EEA. The narrow exception is Article 61 reverse solicitation, discussed elsewhere in this glossary.

Who is exempt under Article 60. Certain already-regulated entities - credit institutions, MiFID investment firms, central securities depositories, market operators, electronic money institutions, UCITS management companies and AIFMs - may provide crypto-asset services on the basis of their existing authorisation, subject to specific conditions and a notification to the home NCA. The exemption is not a full bypass: the entity must still meet MiCA's conduct rules for crypto-asset services.

Enforcement. National Competent Authorities enforce Article 59 within their jurisdiction. Penalties under MiCA include fines (Article 111) and the publication of decisions (Article 113). National regimes already impose criminal sanctions in some Member States (for example, France's PSAN regime carries imprisonment and fine penalties for unauthorised activity that survives into the MiCA era).

What changes on 1 July 2026. Member States may, under Article 143, permit pre-existing national-regime registrations to continue during a transitional period. The latest end-point for that transitional period is 1 July 2026. After that date, no national legacy regime preserves the right to serve EEA residents; only MiCA authorisation or an Article 60 exemption does.