Stripe-Owned Bridge Enters EU MiCA Register After Luxembourg Approval
Key Takeaways
- •Bridge Building, the entity behind Stripe-owned stablecoin platform Bridge, has been officially added to the EU's MiCA register after receiving regulatory approval in Luxembourg.
- •Bridge obtained both a CASP authorization and an EMI license from Luxembourg's CSSF, with coverage extending to all 27 EU member states through MiCA's passporting mechanism.
- •The latest ESMA update brings the total number of MiCA-authorized electronic money token issuers to 42 and the total number of authorized CASPs to 324, following the addition of three German banks.
- •ESMA has been updating its MiCA register with increased frequency throughout July, indicating accelerated regulatory activity as more firms seek compliance under the framework.
- •No asset-referenced token issuers have been listed in the register to date, and the list of non-compliant crypto asset companies remained unchanged in this update.
Bridge Building, the Luxembourg-based entity behind Stripe-owned stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge, has been added to the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) register following regulatory approval in Luxembourg.
Stripe acquired Bridge in October 2024 in a deal reportedly valued at approximately $1.1 billion, marking the payments processor's most significant move into crypto infrastructure. Bridge provides developer tools that allow businesses to accept stablecoin payments and move funds across blockchain networks.
With Bridge's inclusion, the number of MiCA-authorized electronic money token (EMT) issuers listed in the EU register now stands at 42, according to the latest update from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published on Wednesday.
The registration follows Bridge's July 2 announcement that it had obtained a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) authorization under MiCA as well as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). Bridge noted at the time that these authorizations were secured across all 27 EU member states. MiCA's passporting mechanism allows firms authorized in a single member state to offer services throughout the bloc without requiring separate national approvals.
Bridge's Head of Product, Mai Leduc Blount, stated that the approvals enable businesses operating in the EU to develop stablecoin and payment products within a fully regulated framework.
The same ESMA update also added three new CASP entries from Germany — Volksbank Die Gestalterbank, VBU Volksbank im Unterland, and VR-Bank Erding — bringing the total number of authorized CASPs in the EU register to 324. Their addition, alongside earlier entrants such as a BNY Mellon unit, reflects the growing participation of traditional financial institutions in the MiCA regime.
The update showed no changes to asset-referenced token (ART) authorizations, with no ART issuers currently listed. The list of non-compliant crypto asset companies likewise remained unchanged.
ESMA has been publishing updates to its MiCA register with greater frequency in recent weeks, issuing several revisions throughout July. The regulator had previously added 15 new providers in an earlier update.
The MiCA framework, which fully took effect across the EU, establishes harmonized rules for crypto-asset issuers and service providers operating within the bloc, covering areas such as stablecoin issuance, custody, trading, and market conduct. The regulation provides companies with a single compliance standard across the world's largest trading bloc, replacing the patchwork of national crypto regimes that previously governed the industry.