MiCA in Spain: rules, supervision and CASP licenses

The CNMV (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores) is Spain's competent authority for crypto-asset service providers under MiCA, with the EU rules applying since 30 December 2024 and national transitional arrangements ending by mid-2026. Before MiCA, crypto firms registered with the Banco de España under AML rules.

Spain's distinctive early move was advertising supervision: since 2022 the CNMV has required risk warnings and pre-notification for large crypto ad campaigns — years before MiCA made marketing rules an EU-wide standard.

Search the CNMV's registers (cnmv.es) or ESMA's union-wide CASP register. The authorisation entry lists covered services and the responsible entity.

Platforms authorised elsewhere in the EU can passport into Spain; verify the home-state authorisation in the ESMA register rather than taking a website's word for it.

The Banco de España registry was an AML measure; MiCA's CASP authorisation adds segregated custody, capital requirements, conduct rules and complaint procedures — supervision with substance behind it.

Spain's ad-warning regime, meanwhile, foreshadowed MiCA's marketing rules: communications must be fair and clear, and 'guaranteed returns' talk is exactly what supervisors look for.