What is CASP (crypto-asset service provider)?

The European Union's regulatory category, defined by the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, for firms offering services such as custody, exchange, order execution, or transfer of crypto-assets.

The commercial appeal of the regime is passporting. A firm authorized in one member state can offer the same services across the bloc without seeking a separate license in each, which is why so many exchanges chose a single European home and announced it loudly. For a buyer the label is a floor, not a ranking: it tells you a firm answers to a named regulator under written rules, not that it is cheap, liquid, or well run.

The misunderstanding worth clearing up is that authorization means your funds are insured. It does not. The regime imposes custody and segregation duties, but there is no European deposit guarantee scheme covering crypto held at an exchange.

How it works

The regulation is Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, which entered into force in June 2023 and phased in over the following period, with transitional arrangements letting firms operating under earlier national regimes continue while they seek authorization (source: ESMA's Markets in Crypto-Assets pages).

Authorization is granted by a national competent authority, not by a central European body. That authority assesses capital, governance, fitness of management, custody arrangements, complaint handling, and conflict-of-interest controls. Once granted, the firm notifies the states it intends to serve and passports in.

Obligations continue after authorization. Client crypto-assets must be segregated from the firm's own, records kept, complaints handled through a published procedure, and marketing communications must be fair and clearly identifiable as such.

ESMA maintains a register of authorized providers, drawn from national authorities and updated regularly, which is the place to check a claim rather than the firm's own website.

Example

Illustrative of the structure rather than a specific firm. An exchange obtains authorization from a single member state's regulator. It then notifies that regulator of the other member states it will serve and begins offering custody and order execution across them under one license. A resident of any of those states can open an account under the same rulebook, with complaints going first to the firm and then to the authorizing state's regulator, which may be in a different country from the customer.

Why it matters when you buy

If you are in the European Union, authorization status determines which venues can legally solicit your business and which are relying on you approaching them unprompted. It also shapes what happens when something goes wrong, because an authorized firm has a named supervisor and a mandatory complaints route. The exchange pages record where each venue is headquartered, and the availability pages show where each will open an account.

Related terms

mica — the regulation that creates the category; vasp — the equivalent anti-money-laundering term; asset referenced token — one of the token types the regulation defines; e money token — the other; reverse solicitation — the narrow route for unauthorized firms.

Questions

Does authorization protect my money if the exchange fails?

Not directly. The regime requires client assets to be segregated from the firm's own and sets custody standards, but there is no European guarantee scheme for crypto equivalent to bank deposit insurance.

Can a non-European exchange serve European customers?

Only in narrow circumstances. The regulation restricts soliciting business in the bloc without authorization, leaving reverse solicitation, where the customer approaches the firm entirely on their own initiative, as a limited exception that regulators read strictly.

Where do I check whether a firm is authorized?

ESMA publishes a register of authorized crypto-asset service providers compiled from national competent authorities, and each national regulator publishes its own list. Treat those as the source rather than any claim on the exchange's site.