WhiteBIT, a crypto exchange founded in Ukraine in 2018, has received authorization under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) from Austria's Financial Market Authority. The license allows the company to provide regulated services across the European Economic Area from a single authorization. The MiCA transitional period for unlicensed exchanges ends July 1, 2026. That is 12 days from now.
How does MiCA passporting work?
MiCA is built around a passporting model. When a company obtains a CASP (crypto-asset service provider) license in one EU member state, it gains the right to offer the same services across all 30 countries of the European Economic Area. No separate permits per country are needed. Banks in the EU have operated under the same logic for decades.
In practice, this means WhiteBIT, licensed in Austria, can legally onboard clients from France, Poland, Germany, and 27 other countries. Without passporting, the company would spend years working through national licensing in each jurisdiction separately. WhiteBIT will use the Austrian authorization to launch a dedicated European platform, whitebit.eu.
Why did WhiteBIT choose Austria?
Not all EU countries handled the MiCA transition the same way. Most member states allowed crypto companies to continue operating under legacy national registrations during the transition. Austria ended that option on December 31, 2025, and became one of the first EU jurisdictions to fully shift to the new framework. That made the local FMA one of the more active regulators in CASP licensing.
- Austria's FMA has issued 9 CASP licenses under MiCA and described application volume as "significant"
- 35 million customers globally are served by W Group, WhiteBIT's parent company
- The exchange has partnerships with Visa, FACEIT, FC Barcelona, Juventus, and the Ukrainian national football team
- A dedicated European platform whitebit.eu will launch under the Austrian license
For Ukrainian users, WhiteBIT is a familiar name. The exchange built its presence in the domestic market during the war years and is one of the few crypto platforms with direct partnerships across international football clubs and the national team. The MiCA license marks a new chapter for a company that started as a Ukrainian startup and is now entering the regulated EU market.
Where do other exchanges stand ahead of July 1?
OKX Europe released a notable set of data. Of 18.5 million crypto app downloads across EU countries between May 2025 and May 2026, 7.6 million came from exchanges not listed on any public MiCA authorization register. That is 41% of the market without a license.
The most difficult position belongs to Binance. Greece's regulator is reportedly preparing to reject its MiCA application, and according to The Big Whale, France may be the exchange's last remaining path to a license before the deadline. Binance serves millions of clients across the Eurozone, and a rejection would have major consequences for those accounts.
Analysts disagree on what follows. Some argue that unlicensed platforms will redirect their EU client base outside the bloc or file appeals. Others expect a genuine shift of users toward licensed venues, which could meaningfully change how market share is distributed.
What happens after July 1?
The European Securities and Markets Authority has stated that companies without a MiCA license should implement wind-down and client migration plans. Continuing to operate while waiting for a licensing decision is not an option under ESMA's guidance.
For millions of EU crypto users, this means checking the regulatory status of their platform is no longer optional. Funds held on unlicensed exchanges may become inaccessible or require fast withdrawal. Moving to a licensed operator before the deadline is the lower-risk choice.
WhiteBIT gained an early advantage by anchoring in Austria, where the MiCA transition closed in December 2025. That gave the company several months of lead time over competitors now scrambling to file applications or dealing with rejections. For anyone tracking the Bitcoin market and deciding where to hold or trade crypto in Europe, the regulatory picture now plays a real role in that decision.
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