How to choose a regulated crypto exchange in the EU

MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) is the EU’s common rulebook for crypto-assets. The rules for crypto-service providers — CASPs (Crypto-Asset Service Providers) — took effect on 30 December 2024. From 30 June 2026, anyone offering crypto trading, custody or other crypto services in the EU/EEA must hold a CASP licence — with no exceptions.

In Denmark, the transitional period ended already on 30 December 2025. Existing providers therefore had to be authorised by the end of 2025 to keep serving Danish customers legally.

A CASP licence is not just a stamp. It requires, among other things, segregated custody of client assets (kept separate from the provider’s own funds), governance and capital requirements, clear disclosure of risks and fees, and ongoing supervision by a national authority — in Denmark, the Danish FSA (Finanstilsynet).

In practice, a regulated counterparty is bound by rules that protect you as a customer — unlike an unregistered offshore exchange with no supervision.

Is the company authorised as a CASP under MiCA? Look it up in the national authority’s register (in Denmark, the Danish FSA) or in ESMA’s register of authorised CASPs.

Which authority supervises it, and in which EU/EEA country is the provider based? Are client assets held in segregated custody with a regulated partner? Are fees and risks disclosed clearly and upfront?

A CASP authorised in one EU/EEA country can, through passporting, offer its services across the EU/EEA. That is why you can legally use a Danish- or EU-licensed provider wherever in the Union you live.

It also means "regulated in the EU" is a concrete, verifiable fact — not a marketing claim. You can always look up the authorisation in the official register.

No visible CASP authorisation or supervisory authority; based outside the EU/EEA without an EU licence; unclear who holds your assets; pressure to deposit quickly; and fees that only appear when you trade.

If in doubt, stop at the checklist above and verify the authorisation before you deposit.

Penning is Denmark’s first CASP-licensed crypto platform under MiCA, supervised by the Danish FSA (FTID 10902), with segregated EU custody. That is documentation and supervision you can verify yourself — not a promise.

To see the specific regulated services a CASP licence covers, read our CASP-licence page — and our overview of the MiCA framework itself.