Spain follows the trajectory of other EU Member States that have similarly recalibrated their transitional periods since ESMA first published its consolidated list.

By Gabriel Lakeman, Paloma Arizón, and Ivan Pizeta

On 1 December 2025, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published an updated list of grandfathering periods decided by EU Member States under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). These transitional periods enable firms currently providing services pursuant to pre-MiCA Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registrations to continue to provide services pending full MiCA authorisation and represent a key mechanism for ensuring continuity of services to EU clients.

In the latest updated list, Spain is the only Member State to extend the initially communicated period of 12 months to 18 months (i.e., until 30 June 2026). Given the limited number of Spanish MiCA authorisations to date, the extension significantly mitigates the year-end “cliff edge” risk facing Spanish MiCA applicants, giving the Spanish national competent authority, the CNMV, additional runway to advance pending application proceedings.

Spain follows the trajectory of other Member States that have similarly recalibrated their transitional periods since ESMA first published its consolidated list. Earlier this year, Bulgaria and Italy extended their grandfathering periods from 12 months to 18 months, while Lithuania moved from 5 months to 12 months. The pattern reflects both MiCA’s limited harmonisation of transitional mechanics and the practical constraints that national competent authorities are facing under initially shorter timelines — which were amplified by ESMA’s subsequent push for tighter periods, and which resulted in additional variation in the transitional periods imposed across the EU.

We are now entering the final stretch of the MiCA transitional period for VASPs, with the end of the grandfathering window approaching even in the Member States that opted for the maximum 18‑month period through 30 June 2026. While targeted adjustments and clarifications have eased some year‑end cliff‑edge concerns, the risk of uneven cut‑offs and compressed implementation remains. Firms should use this time to finalise licensing strategies, close remaining control gaps, and align product, disclosure, and safeguarding frameworks with steady‑state MiCA expectations ahead of definitive end dates.