The Malta cryptocurrency licensing process came under investigation from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Europe’s main supervisor body that oversees markets in the regulation of crypto-assets (MICA) assets.
The esma on Thursday released A review of the process of consent of the Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASPS) of the Malta’s Financial Services Authority (MFSA), which features certain shortcomings and suggests a set of recommendations.
Despite stating that the MFSA has achieved some expectations of the administration of prefunction and staff, the EU guardian said the Maltese authorities have “partially achieved expectations” in the process of permission for an unnamed casp.
Following the review, the AD HOC Peer Review Committee (PRC) recommends that the MFSA “assess material issues that either are still pending with the date of consent or that is not yet adequately considered at the consent stage.”
Malta Review was launched in April
The Report Come a year after Mica Framework Forced on June 29, 2024It becomes a major milestone in the EU approach to regulating digital assets.
Since Mica is aimed at giving a Similar and parallel the legal outline For the Crypto in the EU, the regulator highlights that Mica’s consent approach applies to all national competent authorities (NCAS).
In December 2024, the European Banking Authority’s Board of Supervisors (BOS), the main body of the agency, agreed to adopt a coordinated approach for Casps’ permits.
“Following a series of events, BOS of ESMA decided on April 2025, to launch a peer review of the permission and early administration of a Casp of the Malta Financial Services Authority,” the report mentioned, and addition:
“Although peer analysis targets an NCA, nevertheless, aimed at promoting the administrators’ administration and improved the administration skills of all NCAs, at a time when the NCA’s entire nation with the permission and setting of administration expectations is key.”
MFSA permission is less expected
ESMA’s PRC, the committee that conducted the peer review process at MFSA, reported that MFSA has built a “good level of expertise in this sector and has sufficient sources of administration for CASP’s permits and administration.”
The PRC analysis reminds three main areas: the administration and resource settings, permission and administration process and use of adequate power.
While the administration setting requirements are fully met and mainly meets the administrative evaluation rules, the report said the MFSA “partially achieved expectations” associated with “specific Casp’s consent.”
MFSA of Malta “needs to monitor the growth applications” and the administration of administration skills in a timely manner, the PRC said and need to adjust.
Related: Bybit, Okx Expand Crypto Services in Europe under Mica
Rewritten that all EU states need to be considered this issue and strictly follow the standards:
“Due to the freshness and nature of these types of creatures as well as the natural risks of their business model, the PRC recommends all NCAs, which are currently in the process of allowing Casp, to pay attention to some aspects of permission.”
Four Mica Casps licensed by MFSA
Since the ESMA does not reveal the name of the Casp the MFSA’s wrong author, it is unclear whether the PRC’s recommendation to assess the issue will affect any of the released licenses.
“It’s hard to comment without knowing exactly what unresolved issues,” Xreg’s consulting partner Nathan Catania told Cointelegraph.
“I do not expect any recovery or review based on the report,” he said.
According to In the MFSA register of licensed Casps operating under MICA, there are currently four registered companies: BP23, trading as Bitpanda; Foris Dax, trading as crypto.com; Okcoin Europe, trading as OKX; and Zillion bits, trading as ZBX.
In April, Malta’s intelligence assessment unit Enhanced Okcoin Europe $ 1.2 million After seeing some violations from 2023. The penalty arrived soon after MFSA issued a MICA license to OKX in January 2025.
Cointelegraph approached ESMA and the MFSA for a comment on the potential impact of reviewing companies licensed by MICA in Malta, but did not receive a response by publishing.
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