Spain Brings Forward MiCA Crypto Rules by Six Months After EU Pressure

Spain said it will bring forward implementation of the European Union's crypto law, MiCA, by six months in a move likely to affect crypto firms already registered in the country, including Binance, Kraken and Coinbase (COIN).

The rules introduce tough consumer-protection measures for crypto firms, and in principle kick in at the end of next year for companies seeking a new license. Companies already operating under national law, however, can carry on for a further 18 months, and regulators are anxious that an overlong implementation period would place customers of the bloc's roughly 2,000 registered crypto companies at a disadvantage.

The Spanish government now wants implementation by December 2025, half a year shorter than MiCA requires.

"The government will shorten the transitional period of application ... with the aim of creating a predictable and stable regulatory and supervisory framework," the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Digital Transformation said in an Oct. 26 press release in Spanish.

In an Oct. 17 letter, the European Securities and Markets Authority, an EU watchdog partly responsible for policing the law, encouraged countries to shorten the transition period, which it fears offers a consumer-protection loophole for a potentially large number of providers.

Major crypto players already registered with the Bank of Spain under money-laundering provisions include Binance, Coinbase, Kraken and Bitstamp.