BitPay has secured full authorization as a crypto-asset service provider from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, giving its European subsidiary a regulated base for expanding payment services across the European Union.
The MiCA authorization covers BitPay B.V., the company’s Amsterdam-based European entity. The license supports crypto payment processing, cross-border transfers and consumer spending, alongside partner-provided buying, selling and swapping services.
Merchants and payment partners can use BitPay for crypto acceptance and stablecoin-denominated settlement under the EU’s unified regulatory framework. Consumers gain access to spending and asset-management tools operated through the licensed European entity.
The authorization is a full CASP license, not preliminary approval or an extension of BitPay’s previous Dutch registration. The Netherlands ended its transitional regime for older virtual-asset registrations on June 30, 2025, requiring covered firms to obtain MiCA authorization to continue regulated crypto services.
MiCA Passport Opens Wider EU Market
BitPay can use the Dutch license to extend covered services into other EU markets after completing the required cross-border notifications.
MiCA replaces separate national crypto-service regimes with common requirements covering governance, capital, customer protection, conflicts of interest, anti-money laundering controls and operational resilience. The AFM crypto register identifies the licensed legal entity and the services it is permitted to provide.
The license does not authorize BitPay to issue a stablecoin. It allows the company to provide regulated crypto-asset services involving supported digital assets, including payment and transfer activity where stablecoins are used for settlement.
Europe had issued around 230 MiCA licenses by late June, with the Netherlands among the bloc’s most active licensing hubs. Approved firms can expand across the EU through one supervised entity, while unlicensed operators face product restrictions, customer migrations or service shutdowns.
Stablecoin Settlement Drives European Expansion
BitPay plans to increase investment in European operations, regulated payment infrastructure and commercial partnerships as stablecoins take a larger role in merchant settlement and cross-border payments.
The company has processed crypto payments since 2011 and offers merchant checkout, invoicing, payouts and consumer wallet services. Its European strategy centers on converting blockchain settlement into payment products that businesses can integrate without directly managing private keys or crypto-market exposure.
Payments companies are building similar regulatory structures around MiCA. Ripple recently secured preliminary Luxembourg CASP approval for its institutional crypto and payments business, although it must still satisfy final conditions before receiving full authorization.
BitPay’s Dutch entity can now support regulated payment processing, crypto transfers and partner-based exchange services while the company expands its merchant and consumer operations across the EU.
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