The Czech National Bank (CNB) granted the first six authorisations for crypto-asset service providers under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), marking the first decisions from a total of 248 applications received. Further applications will be processed within MiCA’s statutory deadlines and, once the decisions become final, authorised providers will be listed on the CNB’s website and become subject to CNB supervision. The CNB has acted as the competent authority for MiCA authorisations since 15 February 2025, when the prior Czech regime treating these activities as an unqualified trade ended. Firms seeking to rely on the transitional regime had to submit applications by end-July 2025 and may continue operating until the CNB decides, but no later than 1 July 2026; from August 2025, MiCA-covered services can no longer be provided by natural persons, so applicants must be legal entities. The CNB underlined that authorisation is not a statement about the safety of any crypto-asset investment, and that its licensing review focuses on the provider’s risk management, internal controls, organisational arrangements and capital. To manage one of the highest application volumes in the EU, the CNB temporarily redirected supervisory staff resources and uses in-house artificial intelligence tools to support document review, identify inconsistencies and detect missing information, while keeping grant or refusal decisions with CNB experts.

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