ESMA adds 14 MiCA-licensed crypto firms, taking CASP total to 294

ESMA updated its Markets in Crypto-Assets register to add Ripple Payments Europe and 14 other firms, taking the total number of authorised crypto-asset service providers to 294. Ripple’s Luxembourg-authorised unit now serves as the company’s regulated payments arm across the European Economic Area, using MiCA passporting rights to access 30 countries from a single approval. The CASP authorisation complements Ripple’s existing electronic money institution license in Luxembourg, allowing banks, fintechs and corporates to collect, exchange and pay out through one integration across crypto and fiat rails. The combination is also relevant for RLUSD, Ripple’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, because MiCA treats stablecoins separately and only credit institutions or electronic money institutions can issue them in Europe, though any European launch remains unannounced. The latest additions span 10 European countries and include Portugal’s Bison Bank, Croatia’s state-owned Hrvatska poštanska banka, Liechtenstein’s Kaiser Partner Privatbank and two German cooperative banks, highlighting how traditional financial institutions are building regulated crypto capacity alongside crypto-native firms. The pace of approvals has slowed, however, with ESMA adding 37 providers on July 3 after the transitional period ended, compared with 14 in the latest update. Markets showed little immediate reaction. XRP traded near $1.07 with a market capitalization above $67 billion, down roughly 3.46% over 24 hours, and remained about 70% below its record high of $3.65. The licence is seen as more significant for payments infrastructure than for near-term token pricing, although broader institutional use of Ripple’s rails could support transactional demand over time.