75% VASP registered in the EU will not be able to follow Miki

Opinion: Slava Demchuk, co -founder and general director of AMLBOT

All virtual resource service providers (VASPS) registered in the EU before 2025 must meet markets in the field of requirements for cryptocurrency regulation (MICI) this year. Not everyone will be able to do this.

Mika regulation is in fact a good legal framework for the cryptocurrency industry, but it also has some disadvantages, especially in the case of cryptographic startups and petite companies.

Looking at the case of Estonia and its implementation of cryptographic licenses in 2017, it can be predicted that about 75% of VAPS will have to stop their activities in the EU.

What happened in Estonia with cryptographic licenses?

In 2017, Estonia was one of the first EU Member States that introduced the process of licensing cryptocurrencies. Obtaining a cryptocurrency license (VASP registration) was simple and quick. It does not require physical presence, the requirement of share capital or proof of having solid washing with laundry result? By 2019, Estonia has issued about 2,000 cryptographic licenses.

However, since 2019, Estonia has adopted several corrections to the law, including requirements similar to Mika. As a result, most licensed cryptographic companies were unable to comply with up-to-date requirements and lost their licenses. Today, Estonia has only about 45 licensed cryptographic companies.

The current situation in the EU with VASP registration

Similar situations will take place in countries with lightweight VASP registration requirements, such as Poland and the Czech Republic. There are about 1,600 VAPS registered in Poland, due to the simple and quick registration process in the country before the implementation of Mika. With minimal requirements, you can open a company and receive VASP registration in these countries within a few weeks.

These licensing processes changed completely in 2025, when Mika came into force fully. All registered Vaps must comply with the up-to-date requirements that will be the same regardless of their registration country; Otherwise, they will have to stop their activities.

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Most of them will not be able to follow, based on previous experiences, for example when 1900 companies lost their VASP registration in Estonia. These license losses occurred as a result of several key factors:

Their size: Many registered VASP are one to three people who have provided the necessary replacement on P2P or without a prescription platforms. They will not have enough resources to meet Mika’s strict requirements.
Cost: Acquiring Mika licenses is pricey. Earlier it was possible to receive VASP registration in Poland or the Czech Republic for EUR 2000-4,000. The price of Mika license is much more, usually around 30,000-80,000 euros, depending on the business model and the country of incorporation.
Requirements: Companies that apply for a MIKA license must prove that they have many complicated processes, including AML/KYC, data protection and cyber resistance. That is why the company must employ many specialists and build many processes. Based on the number of VASP registered in Poland, these 1600 VAPS will have to find 1,600 AML/compatibility officers (one on VASP) until July 2025-when all Vaps in Poland will be in line with Mika-where they have appropriate knowledge, specialist knowledge and pass the effective test and proper. It will be almost impossible.

In addition, Mica has high share capital requirements from 50,000 to 150,000 euros, depending on the services provided by the company. Many currently registered VASP are startups or petite companies whose revenues will not be able to cover all the costs needed to build the above processes and meet the requirements of the share capital.

Where does petite businesses and startups leave it? They will not be prepared to follow Mika.

Opinion: Slava Demchuk, co -founder and general director of Amlbot.

This article is used for general information purposes and should not be and should not be treated as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are themselves and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.