Opinion by: Slava Demchuk, co-founder and CEO of Amlbot
All virtual service providers (Vasp) registered with the EU before 2025 must comply with markets in crypto-assets (MICA) regulations this year. Not everyone can do it.
The regulation of MICA is, in essence, a great legal framework for the crypto industry, but it also has some disadvantages, especially for crypto startups and small businesses.
Looking at the Estonia case and its implementation of crypto licenses in 2017, it is possible to predict that around 75% of Vasp will need to stop their operations in the EU.
What happened to Estonia with crypto licenses?
In 2017, Estonia was one of the first EU member states that introduced a crypto licensing process. Obtaining a crypto license (a Vasp registration) is easy and fast. There is no physical presence, capital sharing, or proof of having an anti-money laundering (AML) sound and knowing your customers (KYC) system in the area is required. The result? By 2019, Estonia released nearly 2,000 crypto licenses.
Beginning in 2019, however, Estonia has adopted some law amendments, incorporating requirements similar to Mica. As a result, most of the licensed crypto companies did not comply with the new requirements and lost their licenses. Today, Estonia is around just 45 licensed crypto businesses.
Current Situation in the EU with Vasp registration
Similar situations will take place in countries with Light Vasp registration requirements, such as Poland and Czech Republic. There are about 1,600 Vasp registered in Poland, due to the easy and quick registration process in the country prior to the implementation of MICA. With a few requirements, one can open a company and receive a Vasp registration in these countries within a few weeks.
These licensing processes changed completely in 2025 when Mica entered. All registered Vasp should comply with new requirements, which will be the same regardless of their country of integration; If not, they will need to stop their business.
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Most of them will not be able to comply, based on the previous experience, such as when 1,900 companies lost their Vasp registers in Estonia. License losses occurred as a result of many major factors:
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Their size: There are many registered Vasp the one-to-three-person company that has provided important exchanges on the P2P platform or over-the-counter. They will not have enough resources to comply with strict Mika requirements.
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The Cost: Getting a Mica license is expensive. Previously possible to receive Vasp Registering with Poland or the Czech Republic for 2,000-4,000 Euro. The price for a MICA license is beyond that, usually around 30,000-80,000 euros, depending on the business model and the country of integration.
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THE REQUIREMENTS: Companies applying for a MICA license should prove that they have many complex processes in the area, including but not limited to AML/KYC, data protection and cyber stability. Therefore, the company should hire many specialists and develop many processes. Based on the number of Vasp registered in Poland, about 1,600 Vasp will have to find 1,600 AML/compliance with officials (one of the Vasp) in July 2025-when all Vasp in Poland must comply with the mica-with related knowledge, expertise and pass the appropriate-and-proper test. This is almost impossible.
In addition, MICA has a high sharing of capital requirements of 50,000 to 150,000 euros, depending on the services provided by a company. Many currently registered Vasp are startups or small companies whose income will not be able to cover all the costs required to develop the processes mentioned above and satisfy capital sharing requirements.
Where does it leave little businesses and startups? They will not be used to comply with Mica.
Opinion by: Slava Demchuk, co-founder and CEO of Amlbot.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be done as legal or investment advice. The views, attitudes, and opinions expressed here are unique and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of the cointelegraph.
