MiCA in Finland
Finland has switched wholesale to the EU Markets‑in‑Crypto‑Assets Regulation (MiCA). Finland offers a single‑regulator, fast‑track route to MiCA compliance, but its six‑month grace period means the countdown ends 30 June 2025 — one year earlier than in most of the EU. Early, well‑documented engagement with the FIN‑FSA is therefore essential for any crypto business that wants to keep serving Finnish and EU customers.
All MiCA powers sit with the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN‑FSA); it approves crypto‑asset white papers where required, grants every crypto‑asset service‑provider (CASP) licence and will police the new market‑abuse rules. The old Virtual Currency Provider Register remains relevant only for firms that are benefitting from MiCA’s grace period.
Finland has opted for a six‑month grandfathering period — the minimum MiCA allows. Virtual‑currency providers that were already registered under national law had to file a full MiCA application with the FIN‑FSA by 31 October 2024 and may keep operating only until 30 June 2025, unless a MiCA licence is granted sooner. After that date, unlicensed operations must cease.
The FIN‑FSA’s forms mirror the EU regulation: two fit‑and‑proper directors resident in the EU, own‑funds of €50 000–€150 000 (service‑mix dependent), robust safeguarding and governance arrangements, and documentation that already anticipates the Digital Operational Resilience Act. Issuers of crypto‑assets must submit their white papers 20–40 working days in advance; ART white papers require formal FIN‑FSA approval, whereas EMT and “ordinary” crypto‑asset white papers are filed for information.
In its April 2025 briefing the FIN‑FSA warned consumers that MiCA “does not eliminate all the risks” of crypto‑assets and urged caution when dealing with providers based outside Finland, where longer grace periods may still apply.
• Final ESMA/EBA technical standards are expected in the second half of 2025, after which the FIN‑FSA will lock its application templates.
• By 1 July 2025 every Finnish CASP must hold — or be on the brink of receiving — a MiCA licence if it wants to stay in business.
• Supervisory priorities for 2025‑26 include ICT resilience, client‑asset segregation and active market‑abuse monitoring.
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Licentium is a specialized platform that connects crypto-asset issuers and service providers with an international network of lawyers, regulatory consultants, and former supervisors. Projects can map applicable rules in key jurisdictions through a single interface, obtain jurisdiction-specific launch advice, arrange the drafting of white papers and licensing applications, and schedule ongoing compliance health-checks. The platform’s curated expert pool spans financial services, data protection, and corporate law, enabling founders to address cross-border requirements—from MiCA in the EU to securities, AML, and consumer-protection regimes elsewhere—within coherent project timelines and budgets.
