Maxim Moris, Co-Founder and CEO at Cicada, highlighted what he calls a sweeping consolidation in Europe’s crypto sector following the full rollout of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. According to Moris, MiCA has effectively forced the closure or exit of roughly 80% of crypto firms that were previously active in the European Union.
Moris points to stark numbers to support his assessment. Europe counted more than 3,000 registered crypto firms in 2024. Now, only around 230 hold valid MiCA licenses.
He describes this as the loss of approximately 80% of the market’s licensed base over an 18-month period.
The timeline he outlines is precise. On June 23, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) instructed every unregulated crypto firm operating in Europe to begin winding down its activities.
This directive came just days before the MiCA transitional grace period expired on July 1.
With the grace period now ended, firms without MiCA authorization can no longer legally offer crypto-asset services to clients in the EU.
Moris argues that these developments have instantly split the European crypto market into two distinct segments.
He uses Bybit as a concrete example. The global version of Bybit has started restricting access for users in the European Economic Area.
A separate Bybit EU entity continues to serve European clients but operates under its own MiCA license, with a narrower selection of products.
Tokens listed on Bybit Global do not automatically appear on Bybit EU.
The two platforms function as completely separate legal entities, each with its own order book and liquidity pool.
Projects that never worked directly with Bybit EU may discover that European traders can no longer access their tokens through the platform, even though the brand name remains the same.
Drawing on six years of experience running market-making operations and supporting more than 500 token listings, Moris notes that regulatory changes of this scale tend to affect liquidity access before they appear in major headlines.
He advises crypto projects to verify exactly which entity lists their tokens and to confirm which stablecoin pairs currently provide liquidity for European users.
The update from the Cicada executive underscores the scale of MiCA’s impact.
What began as an effort to create a unified regulatory framework across the EU has produced a far smaller group of fully compliant operators.
Many firms that operated under previous national regimes have been unable or unwilling to complete the transition to MiCA licensing.
For projects, exchanges, and liquidity providers, the message is clear: the European market has become significantly more selective.
Only those entities that secured MiCA authorization in time can continue serving EU clients without restriction.
Others must either exit entirely or restructure operations through compliant entities, often resulting in reduced product offerings and fragmented liquidity.
Moris’ update serves as both a factual breakdown of recent developments and somewhat of a practical warning.
Crypto projects are now encouraged to carefully review their European exposure immediately, confirm the status of their listings, and prepare for a market in which compliance determines access. As MiCA enforcement continues, further consolidation appears likely, reshaping how liquidity flows and how projects reach European traders.