Bitvavo Secures EU-Wide Crypto License, Eyes Leadership with 2M Users and MiCA Backing

28/06/2025 admin

Key Takeaways:

Bitvavo obtains MiCA license from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), enabling EU-wide operations.
The exchange becomes one of the first in Europe to operate under the new harmonized MiCAR framework.
With nearly 2 million users, Bitvavo is positioning itself as a dominant player in the European crypto spot market.

As Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) begins reshaping the crypto landscape, Bitvavo has officially received its license under the new framework from the Netherlands’ financial regulator. The move grants the Amsterdam-based exchange legal clarity and passporting rights across all EU member states, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.

MiCAR Ushers in a New Era for Crypto Regulation

The European Union’s MiCAR framework, which came into force in mid-2024, is designed to standardize crypto rules across the bloc. It replaces the previous fragmented system, where crypto exchanges needed separate registrations in each country. Instead, the MiCA license enables authorized firms to operate in all 30 countries within the European Economic Area (EEA) under a single, unified regime.

MiCAR applies to a wide range of digital asset services, from trading and custody to the issuance of stablecoins. Its enacts stiffer consumer protections, operational rules and transparency requirements. The aim: make crypto safer and more compliant — without suffocating innovation.

Where crypto exchanges are concerned, MiCAR is more than regulation. It’s a passport to scale. And Bitvavo has just won it.

Bitvavo’s Strategic Leap to EU-Wide Operations

Bitvavo was licensed by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), giving it authorization to provide services in the rest of the continent period of time. The move places Bitvavo in the same regulatory league as Coinbase (licensed in Luxembourg), Kraken (Ireland), Bybit (Austria), and OKX (Malta).

This isn’t Bitvavo’s first expansion into Europe. The platform was already registered in several key markets – such as France, Austria, Italy and Spain – before it got its MiCA license. With this new development, it can consolidate operations and provide the same service offering throughout Europe, without the lag time and waste of navigating national regulatory logjams.

“This license is an important milestone for Bitvavo and our users,” said Jeetan Patel, Chief Risk Officer.
“It enables us to offer our services across Europe under a single license.”

CEO Mark Nuvelstijn emphasized the broader ambition behind this step:

“This license provides clarity, confidence and enables Bitvavo to fulfil its ambition: to become the leading digital asset trading platform in Europe.”

From Amsterdam Startup to EU Powerhouse

Founded in 2018, Bitvavo started as a local Dutch exchange. Today, we are one of the leading digital asset platforms in Europe with almost 2 million customers and a strong position in the spot trading of the EUR. In real life, Bitvavo is presently the biggest EUR spot trading site in the world.

It has a large selection of tradable cryptocurrencies, a clean interface, and low fees; however, it has an outdated mobile app. This has helped the platform gain significant ground in Europe, particularly with retail traders.

But MiCA licensing is one magnification of a much larger shift – from a well-performing regional exchange to a fully-regulated, pan-European financial services provider.

Bitvavo’s Competitors and the Emerging Regulated Landscape

Bitvavo is not the only player with its eyes on this regulatory prize. In the years since the phase-in of MiCA in 2024, some of the largest crypto exchanges have already moved to secure licenses in separate EU jurisdictions:

Coinbase got its license in Luxembourg in June 2025.
Kraken was granted its license by Ireland’s Central Bank.
Bybit got licensed in Austria in May.
OKX and Crypto.com both registered through Malta.

While the regulatory environment is unified under MiCAR, companies are still allowed to choose a “home” country to apply from—often depending on local regulator efficiency, legal clarity, and existing operations.

As reported, Bitvavo’s development of a licensing arrangement on its home turf in the Netherlands is both an operational efficiency and a reflection of confidence in the country’s regulator’s preparedness for a rollout of the rules under MiCAR.

The AFM’s strong enforcement and investor protection adherence makes it an attractive authority for other fintechs in EU to follow.

With MiCAR now in effect and regulatory uncertainty fading across Europe, crypto firms can finally build long-term strategies around infrastructure, product expansion, and institutional partnerships.

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