Is my crypto platform authorised?

Daniel Platteau

In short: since 1 July 2026, any platform that buys, sells or holds crypto for European clients must, with rare exceptions, have MiCA authorisation (or, for a bank, have notified its activity). Those without it must stop serving Europe: that is the case of Binance, which still has no authorisation. Finding out where you stand takes a few minutes: find the legal name of the company you signed up with, look it up in the ESMA register, then check that it does not appear in the FSMA warnings. Authorisation means a platform is supervised; it does not make your crypto risk-free.

Updated on 19 October 2026. This article is not financial advice.

What changed on 1 July 2026

The European MiCA regulation (Markets in Crypto-Assets, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114) has applied to crypto service providers since 30 December 2024. It calls them CASPs (crypto-asset service providers): exchanges, custody services, brokers, apps that let you buy bitcoin.

Providers already legally active before that date could benefit from a transitional period, whose length each country set within the limit laid down by MiCA. In Belgium, as everywhere in the Union, it ended no later than 30 June 2026: since 1 July, a provider without authorisation must stop its crypto services in Europe (FSMA, 2026a). The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) asked them to stop taking on new clients and advertising immediately, and to organise an orderly exit: letting clients sell or withdraw their assets, with a clear timetable (ESMA, 2026b).

In Belgium, MiCA was supplemented by the law of 11 December 2025, which divides supervision between the FSMA (Financial Services and Markets Authority) and the National Bank of Belgium (FSMA, n.d.-a). When the transitional period ended, the FSMA had not yet granted any authorisation to a Belgian provider (FSMA, 2026a).

That does not mean Belgians have no access to authorised platforms, thanks to the European passport: a platform authorised in one EU country can serve all 27 member states, for the services its authorisation covers. Most platforms Belgians use are authorised elsewhere: in Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria or Cyprus.

Check your platform in five steps

1. Find the legal name, not the brand

One brand can cover several companies in several countries, and only the authorised one protects you (ESMA, 2026a). Look for the exact company name in the terms and conditions, at the bottom of the website or in the app, under "legal notice". Example: for European clients, behind the Bit2Me brand is the Spanish company Bitcoinforme S.L.; behind Revolut's crypto services, Revolut Digital Assets (Europe) Ltd, in Cyprus (ESMA register, October 2026).

2. Look it up in the ESMA register

ESMA keeps the MiCA register of authorised providers, fed by national authorities and updated every week. It still comes as a downloadable table (CSV file) on ESMA's MiCA page: open it in a spreadsheet and search for the company name (ESMA, n.d.). Check:

• that the company is listed;
• which authority authorised it, and since when;
• which services are covered (custody, exchange for euros, exchange between cryptos, trading platform…);
• that Belgium is among the countries where it may operate.

Easier: our tool Check a crypto platform searches this register for you, by brand or company name, and flags the entities ESMA lists as non-compliant.

3. Check the FSMA warnings

The FSMA publishes lists of companies offering financial services in Belgium without authorisation. On 6 July 2026, its first warning since the end of the transitional period, it added six crypto providers: Aurum Foundation, Bank Bit, Bithf Pro, Dxago, Global Dynamic Trade and ZeriaFunding (FSMA, 2026b). The list is not exhaustive: a name's absence is no guarantee.

4. Compare the website address

Fraudsters copy the name, logo and sometimes the authorisation number of real companies: these are clones. The FSMA reports them regularly (FSMA, 2026c). Check that the website address, the app and the recipient of your transfers match the company listed in the register. A foreign bank account in the name of an individual or another company is a red flag.

5. If in doubt, ask

The FSMA's "Check your provider" tool and its contact form let you ask the question (FSMA, n.d.-b). It is free, and safer than an opinion on a forum.

A few well-known platforms: where do they stand?

The table below covers platforms often used in Belgium. Statuses change: always check the register again before acting.

ESMA register consulted on 19 October 2026. This table is neither a ranking nor a recommendation.

The Binance case

At the end of June 2026, Binance withdrew its application for authorisation in Greece and told its clients in several EU countries that it would no longer accept new sign-ups, while stating that their funds remained accessible (Acuna, 2026). Since then, the platform has relied on reverse solicitation: MiCA allows a non-EU company to serve a European who approaches it on their own initiative, without any advertising or outreach on its part. ESMA describes this exception as very narrow (ESMA, 2026b). In early October 2026, according to the Financial Times, ESMA and the French, German and Greek regulators were examining whether Binance meets these conditions; no authority had yet found an infringement (Journal du Coin, 2026).

For a Belgian client, the key point lies elsewhere: an unauthorised provider does not give you MiCA's protections, including protection of your assets (ESMA, 2026b). Binance says it is aiming for authorisation in France; until it appears in the register, it does not exist.

What authorisation protects, and what it does not

In plain terms, authorisation changes your situation mainly when the platform fails: bankruptcy, internal fraud, commingling of funds as at FTX in 2022. It changes nothing when the market falls. Lending and "yield" are a separate case, which we cover in our article on lending your crypto.

Your platform is not authorised: what now?

ESMA advises you to act promptly: staying with an unauthorised provider means less protection and a greater risk of losing access to your assets (ESMA, 2026a). Three options:

1. Transfer your crypto to an authorised platform. It will run its own identity checks on you. Make a small test transfer first, and check the network used.
2. Transfer it to your own wallet, preferably a hardware wallet: you no longer depend on any platform, but you alone are responsible for your recovery phrase. Our security tips are in this article on data leaks.
3. Sell and bring your euros back to your bank account.

Two precautions. Keep a record of your purchases and transfers (statements, screenshots): a transfer between your own wallets is not a sale, but a sale is, and Belgian crypto taxation changed in 2026. And if you hold USDT, note that an authorised platform will no longer let you buy any: see our article on stablecoins and MiCA.

For my part, I use Bit2Me, authorised in Spain and listed in the ESMA register. This is an affiliate link: it costs you nothing extra, and the check described above applies to it too.

The platform I use to buy my crypto, compliant with the MiCA regulation. Sign up with Bit2Me Affiliate link

Scams: fake authorisations, clones and "recovery" services

The end of the transitional period is a windfall for fraudsters. Three traps keep coming up:

• The fake authorisation. A website displays "MiCA licensed" or "regulated in Europe" without appearing in the register. The advertising claim proves nothing: only the register counts.
• The clone. A website uses the name of a real authorised company. The FSMA flagged three more in its list of 24 September 2026, which contained 51 new fraudulent platforms (FSMA, 2026c).
• The recovery service. After a scam, someone contacts you offering to "recover" your funds for a fee. It is almost always a second scam (FSMA, 2026c).

If you are a victim: stop all payments and all contact, alert your bank, report it to the FSMA and the police, and keep all evidence (FSMA, 2026b). A suspicious message can be forwarded to suspect@safeonweb.be.

True or false?

"My platform is not Belgian, so it is not authorised in Belgium." False. Thanks to the European passport, a platform authorised in Luxembourg or Spain can serve Belgians. That is in fact the case for almost all of them.

"An authorised platform guarantees my money like a bank." False. There is no deposit guarantee for crypto. Authorisation mainly protects you against a badly run or dishonest platform.

"If my platform is not authorised, my crypto is frozen." Not necessarily. ESMA asks unauthorised providers to let their clients sell or withdraw their assets. But nothing guarantees this will last: better not to wait.

"Holding crypto on an unauthorised platform is illegal." False. MiCA targets providers, not clients. But you lose MiCA's protections.

Test yourself

Disclaimer

This article is for information only and is neither investment advice nor legal advice. Platform statuses change: check them yourself in the ESMA register and with the FSMA before any transaction. Crypto-assets carry significant risks, including total loss.

Sources

Acuna, O. (2026, June 26). Binance tells EU users it will no longer provide services after failing to secure MiCA license. CoinDesk. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/06/26/binance-tells-eu-users-it-will-no-longer-provide-services-after-failing-to-secure-mica-license

Bitvavo. (2025, June 27). Bitvavo obtains MiCA licence from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). https://bitvavo.com/de/blog/bitvavo-obtains-mica-licence

Browne, R. (2025, June 20). Coinbase secures EU crypto license, swaps Ireland for Luxembourg as main hub. CNBC. https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/business/money-report/coinbase-secures-eu-crypto-license-swaps-ireland-for-luxembourg-as-main-hub/6309852/

ESMA. (n.d.). Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) [interim MiCA register]. European Securities and Markets Authority. https://www.esma.europa.eu/esmas-activities/digital-finance-and-innovation/markets-crypto-assets-regulation-mica

ESMA. (2026a, April 17). Statement on the end of transitional periods under MiCA. European Securities and Markets Authority. https://www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2026-04/ESMA75-113276571-1679_Statement_on_the_end_of_transitional_periods_under_MiCA.pdf

ESMA. (2026b, June 23). Public statement: MiCA transitional period ends. European Securities and Markets Authority. https://www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2026-06/ESMA75-113276571-1710_Public_Statement_MiCA_transitional_period_ends.pdf

FSMA. (n.d.-a). Crypto-asset service provider (CASP). https://www.fsma.be/en/crypto-asset-service-provider-casp

FSMA. (n.d.-b). Check your provider. https://www.fsma.be/en/check-your-provider/search

FSMA. (2026a, June 25). Crypto-asset service providers: end of the transitional period. https://www.fsma.be/en/news/crypto-assets-service-providers-end-transitional-period

FSMA. (2026b, July 6). Beware of unauthorised crypto-asset service providers. https://www.fsma.be/en/warnings/beware-unauthorized-crypto-asset-service-providers

FSMA. (2026c, September 24). 51 new fraudulent platforms added to the FSMA's list. https://www.fsma.be/en/warnings/51-new-fraudulent-platforms-added-fsmas-list

Journal du Coin. (2026, October 1). Binance : l'ESMA et 3 régulateurs examinent son exemption MiCA. https://journalducoin.com/exchanges/binance-regulateurs-europeens-exemption-mica/

Partz, H. (2026). Belgium's KBC Bank to launch Bitcoin, Ether trading in February. Cointelegraph. https://cointelegraph.com/news/kbc-bank-belgium-bitcoin-ether-trading-february

Quinn, C. (2025, June 26). Kraken becomes latest to win a license under Europe's new rules. Decrypt. https://decrypt.co/327112/kraken-license-europes-new-rules