Germany has solidified its position as the European Union's leading jurisdiction for licensed crypto firms, with 122 providers now authorised under the bloc's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), according to the latest register data. France ranks second with 36 licensed firms, followed by the Netherlands with 29. MiCA replaced a patchwork of divergent national rules with a single authorisation regime: once licensed by one member state, a provider can offer crypto-asset services across the entire bloc, making the register's country-by-country breakdown a direct view of where licensed activity is concentrated. Germany's widening lead has been supported in part by the addition of cooperative banks to the regulatory register.

Germany's MiCA Licensing Lead Continues to Grow

The number of licensed crypto firms in Germany has risen steadily throughout 2026. An April snapshot of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) register published by Binar showed 53 authorised entities in the country, accounting for more than 26% of the EU total at that time. Germany had recorded 57 licences by the end of June, and by August the count had climbed to 79, according to figures reported by Cointelegraph and summarised by Bloomingbit. Six cooperative banks were added in a single register update during that period.

BaFin, Germany's financial regulator, has attributed the high number of licences to the country's large financial sector and the number of credit institutions capable of providing crypto-asset services. The regulator also noted that Germany established a national licensing framework for crypto businesses before MiCA — a regime in force since January 2020, when crypto custody became a regulated activity requiring a BaFin licence — allowing some companies to receive authorisation through a simplified process.

Cooperative banks have continued to contribute to the increase. Register tracker Penning identified several new German entrants in October, including Raiffeisenbank Eifel eG, authorised on 19 October 2026, and Volksbank Niederrhein eG, authorised on 22 October 2026. The entrants belong to Germany's cooperative banking sector, one of the country's largest retail banking networks, whose institutions operate across rural and urban regions alike.

Reported totals differ depending on how licensing status is counted. ESMA's register includes certain authorisations that are scheduled to take effect later in November, whereas Penning counts only licences that are already effective. By the latter methodology, Penning reported 117 authorised firms in Germany out of 387 across the EU as of 6 November.

MiCA Transition Period Has Ended Across the EU

The growing number of licences comes as the transitional period under MiCA has expired. ESMA stated that the transition period ended across the bloc on 1 July 2026. MiCA entered into force in June 2023, with its authorisation requirements for crypto-asset service providers applying from late 2024 and a transitional window that let firms operating under pre-existing national regimes keep serving clients while their applications were assessed. Under the regulatory framework, companies providing crypto-asset services to EU clients without the required MiCA authorisation after that date are in breach of EU law and must stop offering those services.

ESMA also called on firms without a licence to prepare orderly wind-down plans. As reported by ForkLog, those plans should include notifying customers and allowing them to transfer their digital assets to an authorised provider or a non-custodial wallet.

ESMA Register Could See Further Changes

ESMA maintains an interim MiCA register that is updated every few weeks. As regulators continue approving applications and new authorisations take effect, the number of licensed providers across the EU remains subject to change. Germany's total could therefore increase further, particularly as additional cooperative banks and other financial institutions enter the register. The five-licence gap between ESMA's count for Germany and Penning's is accounted for by the authorisations scheduled to take effect later in November; as those dates arrive, they will enter Penning's effective-licence tally as well.

The current figures nevertheless underscore Germany's substantial lead in the implementation of the EU's crypto licensing framework.

Originally reported by bsc.news; writer: Ethan Collins. Published via Hokanews.