MiCAR CASP qualification: what services will be provided?

At the end of December 2024, firms providing crypto asset services will face new rules when MiCAR (Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, often referred to as MICA) becomes applicable. These crypto asset service providers (CASP) will have to apply for a licence or submit a notification request. For CASP in The Netherlands, this application has to be filled with the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). We explained this in our previous article on MiCAR.

An important building block of a licence application is a thorough legal analysis of the crypto asset services the CASP will provide. Indeed, this determines which requirements from MiCAR apply and which policy and procedural documents need to be drafted. Indeed, several rules in Title V of MiCAR apply to all crypto asset services, but there are also specific rules that only apply to some crypto asset services.

In many cases, CASP asks a legal expert specialising in MiCAR to conduct this analysis and prepare a legal qualification memo or legal opinion. This substantiates which crypto asset services require a licence and/or how any current crypto activities qualify under MiCAR. This legal qualification is not only important for the CASP, but must also be provided to the AFM. In the MiCAR licence application form, under section 2-C, the CASP must describe the crypto asset services for which a licence is sought. As an attachment to this, the AFM expects a ‘legal substantiation of the regulatory scope of your activities’ – a legal qualification memo. On the basis of this memo, the AFM can determine whether it shares the analysis and then assess the licence application. A clear and well-reasoned qualification memo from an independent legal expert helps the AFM provide insight into the crypto asset services the CASP will provide.

Our MiCAR experts can analyse which crypto asset services will be provided and prepare a legal qualification memo for you. We can also help a CASP prepare a notification or licence application and submit the application. Please contact us for this without any obligation.