MiCA transition ends in Bulgaria: only licensed providers may serve clients

The transition period that let Bulgarian crypto firms operate without a MiCA licence ended on 1 July 2026. From that date, only licensed crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) may offer crypto-asset services to clients in Bulgaria. This article sets out what the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC, КФН) said, who held a licence in early September 2026, and how to check a provider yourself.

Why the deadline was 1 July 2026

MiCA, the EU Regulation on markets in crypto-assets, has applied to crypto-asset service providers since 30 December 2024. Article 143(3) allowed firms already operating under national law to continue until 1 July 2026 or until their licence was granted or refused, whichever came first. Member States could shorten that period.

Bulgaria used the full 18 months. The Markets in Crypto-Assets Act (ЗПКА), published in State Gazette No. 54 of 4 July 2025 and in force from 8 July 2025, lets providers entered in the NRA register before 30 December 2024 operate without a licence until 1 July 2026 or until a licence decision (§ 3). The same act made the FSC the competent authority for MiCA and moved the old NRA register to the FSC.

What the FSC said

In a statement published on 30 June 2026, the FSC confirmed that the transition period ended on 1 July 2026 and that from then on only licensed providers could offer crypto-asset services in the EU. At that point, the FSC had licensed two companies. The statement also says:

• clients of an unlicensed provider should end their relationship with it;
• the provider must prepare a plan to wind down its activity and help clients through the process;
• clients can move their crypto-assets to a licensed provider, keep them in their own wallet or close their positions;
• an unlicensed provider may not offer new services and may carry out transactions only in connection with the exit option the client chose;
• problems can be reported to the FSC through its online form or by email to [email protected].

Bulgarian licensed providers: the register snapshot

The figures below are a snapshot. ESMA's interim register file, CASPS.csv, was last modified on 9 September 2026, and the FSC register was checked on 16 September 2026. Both registers change as new decisions are taken.

The ESMA file lists four CASPs with Bulgaria as home Member State, all authorised by the FSC:

For all four, the cross-border field in the ESMA file shows Bulgaria only. The FSC register of licensed providers listed the same four companies on 16 September 2026.

On 10 September 2026, after the date of the ESMA file, the FSC decided to grant a licence to FF Digital EOOD (ФФ Диджитал ЕООД) for eight services, including operating a trading platform, exchange for funds and transfer services.

Licences cover specific services. A firm licensed only to exchange crypto-assets for funds, for example, is not licensed to hold crypto-assets for clients.

Applications that were not reviewed

Not every applicant reached a decision on the merits. On 28 July 2026, the FSC refused to review the application of БОНЕККС ЕООД (BoneX) for authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider because the documents submitted were incomplete.

Providers from other EU countries

A CASP licensed in another Member State may serve clients in Bulgaria after notifying the FSC under Article 65 of MiCA. The FSC publishes these notifications with the services each firm may offer. The version of the list published in September 2026 has 122 entries, some of them repeat notifications by the same firm.

How to check a provider

1. Find the legal name of the company behind the app or website, usually in its terms of use.
2. Search the FSC register of licensed providers.
3. If the firm is based in another EU country, search the FSC notification list and ESMA's interim register, and compare the LEI.
4. Check that the licence covers the service you use, such as exchange, custody or transfers.

For background, read MiCA in Bulgaria, the glossary entries for MiCA and CASP, and our explainer on self-custody.