Germany is home to almost a third of the crypto firms licensed under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The EU register now lists 394 licensed providers, and 122 of them are based in Germany. That includes a long list of local cooperative banks. France follows with 36 and the Netherlands with 29.

Germany Pulls Further Ahead on MiCA Licences

Germany's lead has widened steadily this year. An April 2026 snapshot of the ESMA register by Binar showed Germany with 53 licensed entities, over 26% of the EU total at the time. Cointelegraph reported in August, as summarised by Bloomingbit, that Germany had reached 79 licences after six cooperative banks were added in a single update, up from 57 at the end of June.

The same report said BaFin, Germany's financial regulator, told Cointelegraph that the high count reflects the size of the country's financial sector and the number of credit institutions able to offer crypto-asset services. BaFin also said Germany ran a national licensing framework for crypto firms before MiCA, which allowed some firms to obtain approval through a simplified process.

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Cooperative banks continue to make up many of the recent entries. Register trackers such as Penning list new German cooperative bank entrants in October, including Raiffeisenbank Eifel eG (authorised 19 October 2026) and Volksbank Niederrhein eG (authorised 22 October 2026). Counts vary between trackers partly because ESMA's register already lists some authorisations that take effect later in November. Penning, which counts only authorisations already in effect, showed 117 licensed firms in Germany out of 387 EU-wide as of 6 November.

What the End of the Grace Period Means

The licence count matters because the transitional period for crypto firms has ended. In its statement on the end of transitional periods under MiCA, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said the transitional period would expire across the EU on 1 July 2026. After that date, any firm providing crypto-asset services to EU clients without a MiCA licence is in breach of EU law and must stop offering those services.

ESMA also asked unlicensed firms to prepare wind-down plans. Under those plans, firms should exit the market in an orderly way, notify clients and let them move digital assets to an authorised provider or a non-custodial wallet, ForkLog reported.

ESMA maintains the interim MiCA register, which is updated every few weeks. Because new authorisations are still being added, particularly from German banks, the country-level totals are likely to keep changing.

Sources

ESMA: Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), interim MiCA register
ESMA: Statement on the end of transitional periods under MiCA
Binar: MiCA April 2026 EU crypto market snapshot
Bloomingbit: Germany Extends MiCA Lead to 79 CASP Licenses
Penning: MiCA CASP Register
ForkLog: MiCA transitional period expires in the EU