Czech National Bank Issues Its First Six MiCA Crypto-Asset Licenses
The Czech National Bank issued its first six authorizations for crypto-asset service providers under MiCA. The decisions marked the country’s transition from the former trade-license model to direct supervision under the EU-wide regime.
On February 11, 2026, the Czech National Bank issued its first six authorizations to crypto-asset service providers under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA. The bank said it had received 248 applications and would continue reviewing the remainder under MiCA’s prescribed deadlines.
The licenses represented an operational step in the Czech Republic’s transition from its previous national model. Since February 2025, new crypto-asset service providers had been required to comply with the harmonized European framework rather than operate under the former unqualified-trade regime. Firms receiving authorization became subject to Czech National Bank supervision, including requirements related to governance, controls, capital, and risk management.
The event was broader than Bitcoin, but the Bitcoin connection is concrete because exchanges, brokers, and custodians serving bitcoin fall within the regulated service-provider category. The first authorizations therefore marked the point at which the EU’s MiCA structure began producing actual licensed intermediaries in the Czech market.
Its historical value is narrower than a nationwide Bitcoin law or court ruling, so categorical treatment is appropriate. It documents how Europe’s continent-wide regulatory framework translated into national licensing and supervision affecting Bitcoin market access.