BitPay just cleared one of the more meaningful regulatory hurdles in European crypto. The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, known as the AFM, granted BitPay B.V. authorization as a crypto-asset service provider under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation on July 16, 2026.
In English: BitPay can now legally offer payment processing, cross-border transfers, and consumer-facing crypto services across all 27 EU member states from a single regulatory home base.
Why the Netherlands, and why now
The Netherlands has quietly positioned itself as the preferred landing spot for crypto firms navigating MiCA. The AFM has issued multiple CASP licenses across 2025 and 2026, with MoonPay among the other firms to have received authorization through the Dutch regulator.
For BitPay, the move builds on existing infrastructure. The company had previously operated under supervision from the Dutch Central Bank, known as the DNB, under anti-money laundering rules. The MiCA authorization is an upgrade, replacing patchwork national compliance with a single harmonized EU framework.
