Greece has recorded its first entries in the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework, with four crypto-asset service providers now listed on the register maintained by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) — the country's first appearances under the bloc's new licensing regime.

The firms are BCash, Xenios Blockchain Group, Capital Wallet Greece and Piraeus Bank. Three of them are overseen by Greece's Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC), while Piraeus Bank falls under the Bank of Greece, reflecting the country's division of responsibility for crypto-asset supervision. The mix is itself a signal of MiCA's reach: the framework captures not only crypto-native firms but also established banks, bringing both under a single authorisation regime.

The Greek additions came as ESMA's MiCA register expanded to 359 unique crypto-asset service providers, according to the latest register update dated September 24, 2026.

Binance Rejection in the Background

The milestone comes three months after the HCMC rejected a MiCA license application from Binance, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges — an illustration that authorisation under the new regime is not a formality, even for the industry's biggest names. The Wall Street Journal subsequently revealed that European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde had intervened to block the application. According to the report, the concern was that Binance's scale could further entrench dollar-denominated stablecoins in Europe rather than encourage the use of euro-denominated alternatives.

A Shift Toward Common EU Rules

The development is significant because MiCA is moving the EU away from a patchwork of national crypto regimes toward a common regulatory framework. Under the regulation, firms seeking to provide crypto-asset services must apply to the competent authority in their home member state, while authorised providers can operate across the EU through MiCA's passporting framework — meaning a single Greek authorisation allows these firms to serve clients across the bloc without pursuing separate national licenses.

MiCA also establishes requirements covering areas including crypto-asset issuance, trading platforms, custody, transfers, advice and portfolio management, alongside governance standards, client-asset safeguards and conduct requirements.

Transition Period Has Ended

For the industry, the latest Greek entries also illustrate the transition from national licensing to MiCA authorisation. According to ESMA, firms that had been operating under national regimes could generally continue during a transitional period, but that period ended on July 1, 2026, after which unauthorised providers must wind down their EU activities. For consumers, the practical consequence is that any platform still serving EU clients without a register entry is now operating outside the framework.

Separately, banks now account for nearly one in four crypto service providers under the MiCA framework, according to a BitcoinKE review of the register — a cohort Piraeus Bank now joins. The European System of Central Banks has also raised 12 concerns in its response to the EU's review of the MiCA regulation a reminder that institutional scrutiny of the framework continues even as authorisations accumulate.

Protections Tied to Authorised Entities

ESMA has stressed that MiCA protection applies to the specific authorised EU legal entity, rather than automatically extending to other companies within the same corporate group or to non-EU entities. In practice, that means a familiar brand name is no substitute for a register check: the regulator advises consumers to verify providers against its MiCA register.

With the transition period now over, Greece's first MiCA entrants matter less for the individual firms involved than for the broader shift underway across Europe. The ESMA register is becoming the practical reference point for determining which crypto businesses are authorised to serve EU clients under the bloc's unified framework.