Glossary
MiCA
Markets in Crypto-Assets: the EU's 2023 regulation that creates a unified licensing regime for crypto-asset service providers and stablecoin issuers across the bloc.
MiCA was approved in 2023 and phased in through 2024–2025. It defines categories of crypto-assets (asset-referenced tokens, e-money tokens, others), imposes prudential requirements on stablecoin issuers, and creates a unified licensing regime ("CASP" — crypto-asset service provider) that passports across EU member states.
The framework is the most comprehensive in any major jurisdiction to date. Many global stablecoin issuers and exchanges have adjusted their EU offering — and in some cases withdrawn certain products — to fit MiCA's requirements.