Reed Smith launches Aquarius as MiCA compliance demand rises in Europe

Reed Smith has introduced Aquarius, an automated compliance platform aimed at helping crypto companies meet the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, or MiCA, as the bloc tightens oversight of the sector after the end of its transitional period. The system automates crypto-asset classification, regulatory white paper generation, due diligence and ESG disclosures for firms entering the European market or expanding existing services. Reed Smith said it plans to extend support to the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Singapore. The launch comes after MiCA’s transition period ended on July 1, when crypto companies could no longer rely on temporary national exemptions in member states that adopted the full grandfathering period. MiCA now requires crypto-asset service providers to meet common licensing, consumer protection and operational standards across all 27 EU member states. Regulatory attention is also moving beyond approvals toward how licensed firms operate in practice. The European Securities and Markets Authority has started a Common Supervisory Action covering selected MiCA-authorized crypto-asset service providers, reviewing custody operations including private key management, transaction controls, incident response and reliance on third-party technology providers. Market participants have said that MiCA licensing is only the starting point, with regulators and institutional clients now focusing more closely on cybersecurity, governance, asset segregation, access controls and business continuity. European policymakers are also discussing possible updates to MiCA, including stablecoin rules and whether decentralized finance, staking, crypto lending and borrowing, non-fungible tokens and tokenized financial assets should receive more specific treatment.