KuCoin’s European division has secured a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license from Austria’s Financial Market Authority, granting regulated access to 29 EEA countries — a milestone that enables custody, trading and crypto services under a single European framework.
MiCA license grants passported access across the EEA
The authorization allows KuCoin EU to deliver regulated trading, custody, staking and portfolio management within the EEA through MiCA’s passporting mechanism, which unifies service rights across member states.
KuCoin submitted its MiCA application in February 2025 and established Vienna as its operational hub. Leadership by Oliver Stauber (CEO) and Christian Niedermüller (COO) signals a compliance-centered expansion strategy rooted in EU regulatory alignment.
’Securing the MiCA license with our local entity in Austria is a defining milestone in KuCoin’s long-term trust and compliance strategy,’ said CEO BC Wong, highlighting Austria’s regulatory reputation and KuCoin’s push toward institutional credibility.
The license arrives as KuCoin pivots from enforcement actions toward formal regulation. The exchange previously faced a US$300M penalty in the U.S. and bans in Canada and the U.K., but has since added AUSTRAC registration in Australia and a licensed exchange in Thailand as part of its strategic repositioning.
MiCA’s passporting mechanism is pivotal yet politically sensitive. Some EU states have considered limiting cross-border recognition — with France cited as a possible point of friction — posing practical risks to seamless rollout despite legal protections.
The license also introduces new operational demands: stronger governance, custody controls, onboarding requirements and consumer protection standards that affect product design, API integrations, staking terms and risk oversight.
The Austrian approval represents a decisive regulatory shift for KuCoin, embedding the exchange inside Europe’s supervised crypto ecosystem while increasing compliance costs and supervisory obligations.
