Over 1,700 Unlicensed Platforms Cease Operations Following EU MiCA Implementation, Leading to Migration Scams
After the EU MiCA regulation came into full effect on July 1, over 1,700 unlicensed crypto platforms were required to cease operations and guide users to licensed platforms, with only 323 companies holding valid licenses.
Approximately 10 million users were forced to migrate their assets, and scammers impersonated regulatory agencies and licensed exchanges to send fake migration notices, luring users to transfer assets to counterfeit platforms.
The French Financial Markets Authority stated that scammers disguised themselves as its employees to defraud funds under the pretext of collecting "management fees," while the European Securities and Markets Authority confirmed that identities and logos were misused.
The Dutch Financial Markets Authority warned that the migration from unlicensed exchanges itself has become a target for attacks, advising users to verify service providers through the ESMA official registry and to remain vigilant against unsolicited transfer requests.
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority disclosed that it received a total of 4,465 reports of FCA impersonation in the first half of 2025, with 480 victims defrauded.
From a market mechanism perspective, regulatory enforcement to clear unlicensed platforms is driving users and funds towards licensed institutions, with buyers accelerating their migration to compliant exchanges, leading to a surge in scam activities, the complete exit of unlicensed platforms, and benefits for licensed platforms and security tools.
Supplementary data indicates that ESMA requires unlicensed service providers to exit in an orderly manner while prioritizing the protection of customer asset transfers.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
The EU has unified the licensing system for crypto asset service providers through MiCA, previously allowing many unlicensed or only nationally registered platforms to operate during a transitional period. Historical behavior shows a shift from decentralized to unified mandatory compliance, ultimately forcing a shutdown to clear the market.
In terms of capital pathways, licensed platforms gain user migration benefits and expand market share, motivated by compliance barriers that create entry barriers, strategically attracting tens of millions of users who are forced to migrate through regulatory endorsement, while also generating demand for anti-phishing and verification tools.
Similar cases can be seen in other jurisdictions where tightening licensing has led to platform clear-outs and waves of scams. The current European crypto market is transitioning from loose registration to strict centralized authorization.
The structural judgment belongs to regulatory changes: the forced shutdown creates a large-scale asset migration window, making compliance a prerequisite for entry, while amplifying the attack surface for scams under information asymmetry, shifting pricing power from unlicensed traffic platforms to licensed entities and user education enhancers.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Regulatory clear-outs are always accompanied by scam windows.
Migration notices are a high-frequency phishing scenario.
Compliance barriers reshape market concentration.