WhiteBIT EU Joins Austria's MiCA Class of 9 as July 1 Deadline Looms for the Rest

WB-Shield Innovations GmbH, operating as WhiteBIT EU, has obtained authorization under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) from Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA), the company announced on June 19, 2026, from Vienna. The approval allows WhiteBIT EU to passport regulated crypto-asset services to eligible users across the European Economic Area under a single license.

"WhiteBIT was originally founded as a European exchange, and Europe remains at the core of our long-term vision," said Volodymyr Nosov, Founder and President of W Group, of which WhiteBIT is part. "With MiCA setting a global benchmark for digital asset regulation, this authorization reinforces our commitment to building a transparent, secure, and compliant crypto ecosystem for users across the region." W Group serves more than 35 million customers globally.

The license lands less than two weeks before the European Union's MiCA transition period expires on July 1, after which crypto companies operating under legacy national registrations must either hold a MiCA license or stop serving clients in the bloc. The European Securities and Markets Authority has said firms that remain unauthorized after that date should implement wind-down and client migration plans. Austria did not extend grandfathering provisions for virtual asset service providers beyond Dec. 31, 2025, making it one of the first European Union jurisdictions to fully transition to the MiCA framework. According to comments previously provided to Cointelegraph by the FMA, the regulator has licensed nine crypto-asset service providers under MiCA and described application volume as "significant."

Founded in 2018, WhiteBIT lists partnerships with Visa, FACEIT, FC Barcelona, Juventus and Ukraine's national football team. The exchange is preparing to launch whitebit.eu, a dedicated platform for users across the EEA operating under the MiCA framework, with early registration already open through a form on the website. The European expansion comes as scrutiny intensifies on exchanges that have yet to secure authorization; Reuters reported this week that Greece's market regulator was preparing to reject Binance's MiCA application, while The Big Whale said France may be the exchange's last remaining path to a MiCA license before the deadline.