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What Is a CASP Under MiCA?

A CASP is a Crypto-Asset Service Provider regulated under the EU's MiCA regulation. Here is what counts as a CASP, what authorisation involves, and how it differs from the Travel Rule.

Research

What Is a CASP Under MiCA?

This is general educational information, not legal advice. Regulatory obligations depend on your jurisdiction, your licence, and your activity. Confirm your position with a qualified adviser. (Reviewed 2026-06-24.)

Direct answer

A CASP, or Crypto-Asset Service Provider, is a business that provides crypto-asset services and is regulated under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, known as MiCA. Under MiCA, a CASP must be authorised by a national competent authority to operate in the EU. The rules for CASPs became applicable on 30 December 2024.

Why this matters

If you run a crypto business that serves EU customers, MiCA likely determines whether you need authorisation, and as what. Even outside the EU, MiCA has become a reference point for how crypto firms are regulated. Understanding what a CASP is, and what authorisation involves, is the starting point for operating compliantly in or into the EU.

How it works

MiCA created a single framework for crypto-asset markets in the EU, including a licensing regime for the firms that provide crypto services. Those firms are CASPs.

Crypto-asset services under MiCA include activities such as:

  • custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients,
  • operating a trading platform for crypto-assets,
  • exchanging crypto-assets for funds or for other crypto-assets,
  • executing orders, and reception and transmission of orders,
  • placing of crypto-assets,
  • providing transfer services, advice, or portfolio management on crypto-assets.

A business that provides one or more of these services to third parties on a professional basis generally falls within the CASP definition and needs authorisation from a national competent authority.

CASP authorisation is not the same as the Travel Rule

It is easy to blur MiCA with other crypto rules, but they are distinct:

  • MiCA provides the CASP licensing and operating framework. It is about who may provide crypto services and how.
  • The EU Transfer of Funds Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1113) applies the travel rule to crypto transfers, requiring originator and beneficiary information to accompany transfers. For CASPs in the EU it has no de minimis threshold. It also became applicable on 30 December 2024.

In short, MiCA decides whether you can operate as a CASP, while the Transfer of Funds Regulation governs the information that must travel with certain transfers.

Practical example or analogy

Think of MiCA like the licence to run a financial business, and the Transfer of Funds Regulation like the rule that you must label and document certain shipments. One lets you open the doors; the other governs how specific transactions are recorded and passed on. A CASP typically has to deal with both, but they are separate obligations from separate rules.

Key steps or considerations

If you are assessing whether you are a CASP:

  1. Map your services against the MiCA list of crypto-asset services.
  2. Identify your competent authority in the relevant EU member state.
  3. Plan for authorisation, including governance, capital, and conduct requirements.
  4. Separate your obligations. Authorisation under MiCA, transfer-information duties under the Transfer of Funds Regulation, and broader AML duties are distinct.
  5. Build the compliance operations to meet ongoing monitoring and reporting expectations.

How Sixpence supports CASP compliance operations

Authorisation is one thing; running the day-to-day compliance operations a CASP needs is another. Sixpence provides tooling for that operational side, with distinct products for distinct jobs.

  • LedgerBrain supports transaction monitoring and screening. It provides real-time transaction monitoring and screens addresses against OFAC, UN, and EU sanctions lists, and can generate SAR or STR reports with Travel Rule support. This helps a CASP operate the monitoring, screening, and reporting controls associated with its AML obligations.
  • LedgerWatch supports investigation and recordkeeping. It provides a transaction graph and case files with export for suspicious-activity reporting. This helps a compliance team investigate alerts and keep a documented trail.

These tools support compliance workflows; they do not provide authorisation or legal advice. Whether and how the rules apply to your business is a matter for your own legal and compliance assessment.

Limitations and compliance considerations

  • CASP status is a legal determination. Whether you are a CASP depends on your specific services and a proper legal assessment, not on a general description.
  • MiCA is EU law. Other jurisdictions have their own regimes; do not assume MiCA applies, or does not, without checking.
  • Rules and guidance evolve. Application dates, transitional arrangements, and guidance change. Confirm the current position.
  • This is general information, not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

What does CASP stand for? Crypto-Asset Service Provider, a term from the EU's MiCA regulation.

When did the CASP rules apply? MiCA's rules for CASPs became applicable on 30 December 2024.

Is MiCA the same as the crypto Travel Rule? No. MiCA is the CASP licensing and markets framework. The Travel Rule for crypto in the EU comes from the Transfer of Funds Regulation (2023/1113), a separate law.

Do I need MiCA authorisation if I am outside the EU? It depends on whether and how you serve EU clients. This requires a specific legal assessment.

Conclusion

A CASP is a Crypto-Asset Service Provider regulated under MiCA, which requires authorisation to provide crypto-asset services in the EU, with the CASP rules applicable from 30 December 2024. MiCA governs whether you can operate; the separate Transfer of Funds Regulation governs the information that must accompany certain transfers. Sixpence supports the operational compliance side through LedgerBrain for monitoring and screening and LedgerWatch for investigation and recordkeeping. To see how those controls work in practice, review the LedgerBrain and LedgerWatch details at sixpence.io.

Sources

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