Europe's Crypto Power Shuffle: Who’s Winning the CASP Race?

By Sean Murphy, COO The Connector. The transition from Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to the new EU-wide Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) framework under MiCA is in full motion. 

What’s unfolding isn’t quiet reform, more of a competitive scramble as countries fight to attract the biggest names in crypto.

Recent data from national registers reveals which countries are drawing serious players and which risk being left behind.

Lithuania: Filtering quality from quantity

Notable CASPs: Robinhood

After allowing hundreds of firms to register as VASPs in the early days of crypto reaching a peak of over 800 entities the country took decisive action in late 2023, by introducing stricter capital, AML, and governance requirements, the regulator slashed the number of active VASPs to under 120, sending a clear message: only serious players would remain.

That message was reinforced in May 2025, when Robinhood Europe became the first firm in Lithuania to receive a full CASP license under MiCA. 

Lithuania's tech-friendly environment and competitive talent pool always makes it a jurisdiction to watch but as of April only 12 firms had submitted applications deemed strong enough to be progressed to a formal review by the Regulator.

Netherlands - Progressive and Balanced 

Notable CASPs: Moonpay

The Netherlands have issued the most CASP licenses in Europe so far (15)

The composition of the Dutch CASP market reflects a progressive approach to licensing. While it includes high-profile unicorns like MoonPay Europe B.V., valued at over $3 billion, it also features a broad base of younger, startup-stage firms. 

Many of these companies such as BitStaete B.V., AvianLabs Netherlands B.V., and Zebedee Europe B.V. are less than five years old. This blend of scale and experimentation suggests that the Dutch regulator is open to younger and more innovative companies. 

The result is a diverse ecosystem that could serve as a blueprint for other EU jurisdictions looking to balance growth with compliance under MiCA. 

Ireland – Gold standard

Notable CASPs: Kraken

Ireland continues to attract heavyweight crypto firms with strong compliance profiles. Kraken became the first to secure a CASP license from the Central Bank of Ireland, a regulator known for its measured but high-standard approach. Ireland is shaping up to be a hub for large, well-capitalized players who are willing to meet the full obligations of MiCA.

Ireland’s Central Bank has always strived to position itself as the gold standard for regulated firms in Europe but it remains to be seen if they can attract CASPs in the same way that they have managed to attract Emoney firms in the past as some of it’s VASPs have already picked up CASPs in other jurisdictions.

Luxembourg - Old Exchanges, New Era

Notable CASPs - Coinbase

Luxembourg has quietly positioned itself as a high-trust hub for crypto infrastructure. It’s now home to Coinbase Luxembourg S.A., licensed under MiCA in June 2025, alongside Bitstamp Europe S.A., one of the oldest crypto exchanges globally, and Clearstream Banking S.A., a Deutsche Börse subsidiary focused on tokenized securities.

While it’s unlikely to be a home for new and less established players, Luxembourg is still capable of attracting tried and tested firms. 

Malta 

Notable CASPs – OKX, Crypto.com

Malta has positioned itself as a gateway jurisdiction for global crypto giants, with early MiCA authorisations granted to major names like Crypto.com (via Foris DAX MT Limited) and OKX (via OKCoin Europe Limited). These are not fringe operators, OKX is the fourth-largest exchange globally, while Crypto.com serves millions of users worldwide. Their decision to anchor European operations in Malta signals trust in the country’s regulatory framework.

Germany: Flying under the radar

Germany has quietly become one of the most active jurisdictions under MiCA, issuing nine of the first 25 CASP licences and now sitting at 12 authorisations as of mid-2025. 

What makes Germany unique is the blend of players securing approval. It’s not just crypto-native firms like BitGo and Bitpanda, some of the country’s most established institutions, including Commerzbank, flatexDEGIRO, and Trade Republic, have also secured CASP status. Germany’s early start with crypto custody regulation in 2020 gave its regulator, BaFin, a head start on MiCA alignment. 

The result is a market with real depth: a mix of unicorns, traditional banks, and well-regulated trading firms. Quietly but steadily, Germany has emerged as a dark horse in the EU’s crypto race.

The Bigger Picture: What Happens to the 3,000+ VASPs?

A major cloud still hangs over the thousands of crypto firms registered under legacy VASP regimes. Poland alone has 1,841 active VASPs. Many will never become CASPs the bar is simply too high. But several paths are emerging:

• Acquisition: Larger CASPs may scoop up books of business, licenses, or niche products from VASPs looking for a soft landing.

• Reinvention: Some will pivot into B2B service providers offering white-label platforms or infrastructure to regulated CASPs.

• Partnerships via Agency Models: Like we’ve seen in the payments industry with firms like Enfuce and Modulr, VASPs may operate under the license umbrella of CASPs using an agency model. This setup could allow smaller players to remain active without holding a full CASP license themselves. Whether regulators accept this in the crypto context remains to be seen.

• Non-compliance: A small number will attempt to operate without transition, but MiCA’s enforcement capabilities, coordinated across the EU,will close this loophole over time.

• Exit: Many small VASPs lack the capital, governance, and compliance needed under MiCA, and will quietly wind down.

Conclusion: The Race Is Far From Over

The real winners in the CASP race will be the jurisdictions that can do three things:

 1. Attract serious firms

 2. Process licenses with clarity and speed

 3. Manage the VASP-to-CASP transition without losing innovation

Ultimately, this is the challenge that every country in Europe now faces. The goal is to bring order to a previously unregulated and chaotic sector, to take something that operated outside the rules and make it work inside them. 

But the job isn’t just to attract firms. It’s to do so without inviting the same failures that hurt consumers in the first place. The industry’s past is littered with collapsed exchanges, frozen withdrawals, and outright fraud. From rug pulls to bankruptcies, too many retail users have paid the price for weak oversight.

With MiCA as the baseline, each country must now decide how far it’s willing to go to protect, to compete, and to shape what the future of regulated crypto will actually look like.