REGULATION | Belgium Begins Enforcing MiCA Rules by Warning 6 Unauthorized Crypto Firms

Belgium’s financial regulator has warned consumers against six crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) operating without authorization, becoming one of the first national watchdogs to step up enforcement following the European Union’s July 1 Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) licensing deadline.

The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) said the firms are not authorized to provide crypto services in the country and urged investors to verify whether a provider holds a valid MiCA license before depositing funds or trading digital assets.

The warning comes as the EU enters the enforcement phase of MiCA after an 18-month transition period that required crypto firms serving European customers to obtain authorization from a national regulator. Companies that failed to secure a license are expected to wind down their EU operations or face enforcement action.

Belgium’s action highlights how national regulators are beginning to police compliance under the bloc’s new crypto framework which replaces the previous patchwork of country-specific licensing regimes with a single passporting system across the European Union.

The FSMA also reminded consumers that crypto assets remain highly volatile and are generally not covered by investor compensation schemes urging users to confirm a firm’s regulatory status through the regulator’s official register before engaging with any platform.

The enforcement drive follows similar warnings from European regulators that firms lacking MiCA authorization must immediately stop onboarding new EU customers and orderly wind down their activities marking a new phase of regulatory oversight for the region’s crypto industry.

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