A Singapore-founded digital asset infrastructure company has secured full authorisation under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation, marking a significant step in Europe’s fast-tightening regulatory regime for crypto services.
Damoon Technology (Europe) AG, which trades as Paymonade, received its MiCA licence from Liechtenstein’s Financial Market Authority, allowing the company to provide crypto-asset services across all 30 European Economic Area states through a single regulatory passport. The approval places Paymonade among roughly 280 firms now authorised under MiCA after the bloc’s transitional period ended on July 1, 2026.
The clearance comes as Europe’s crypto market undergoes a sharp regulatory reset. Before MiCA became fully enforceable, more than 3,000 crypto-related businesses operated under separate national registration systems across the European Union and wider European Economic Area. Only a small minority have moved successfully into the new pan-European framework.
Independent reviews of official public registers indicate that about 90 percent of previously registered firms did not meet the new compliance threshold by the end of the transition period. Several large global digital asset platforms by trading volume are also absent from the MiCA register, leaving their ability to operate legally in Europe under heavy scrutiny.
Paymonade’s approval gives the company the right to serve clients throughout the EEA, which includes the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Under MiCA, a company authorised in one eligible jurisdiction can “passport” its services across the bloc rather than applying for separate approvals in each country.
The licence is especially important for firms involved in payments, settlement, and fiat access, where banking relationships and regulatory status are central to daily operations. Paymonade provides fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat infrastructure to banks, financial technology companies, and digital asset platforms that require euro and other currency settlement channels.
The company said it recorded annualised transaction volume of about US$1.8 billion during the first half of 2026 and aims to increase that figure to around CHF 6 billion by mid-2027. It also plans to expand its European workforce over the next year as it adds institutional partners seeking regulated access to digital asset payment rails.
Europe’s crypto market enters a stricter phase
MiCA is the European Union’s first comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto-assets. It was designed to replace the fragmented national registration systems that previously governed crypto-related services across the region.
Under the old structure, a company could be registered in one EU country under local anti-money laundering rules but still face different requirements in another. That patchwork created uneven standards and made it difficult for authorities and customers to assess the strength of a firm’s controls.
MiCA changes that approach by introducing a common licensing framework for crypto-asset service providers. Firms must meet defined standards covering governance, risk management, capital, safeguarding of client assets, market conduct, complaints handling, and operational resilience.
For customers and counterparties, MiCA authorisation is intended to provide a clearer signal that a firm has met a common European baseline. For companies, the licence offers broader market access, but only after passing a more demanding approval process than many national registration systems required.
The result has been a major contraction in the number of firms allowed to operate in the region. While thousands of companies previously appeared on national registers, the number now authorised under the unified MiCA regime is far smaller. That gap has quickly become one of the most closely watched developments in Europe’s digital finance sector.
Regulators have made clear that the end of the transition period is not symbolic. Firms that lack authorisation can no longer continue business as usual in the European market.
Paymonade gains regional passport
Paymonade’s authorisation from Liechtenstein’s Financial Market Authority allows it to use the EEA passporting system. Liechtenstein, though not an EU member, is part of the European Economic Area and participates in the bloc’s single-market framework for financial services.
For a payment infrastructure company, the ability to operate across the EEA under one supervisory framework can be commercially significant. It reduces the need to maintain separate authorisations in multiple countries and gives institutional clients a clearer legal basis for using its services across borders.
Paymonade’s business focuses on connecting traditional financial systems with digital asset networks. In practical terms, that means helping companies move between fiat currencies and crypto-assets through regulated payment channels. Such services are used by firms that need euro settlement, currency conversion, account-based payment flows, and digital asset transaction support.
The company’s model sits at an increasingly important point in the crypto market. While public attention often focuses on trading prices and token launches, the infrastructure behind deposits, withdrawals, compliance screening, and settlement is becoming more central as regulators demand stronger oversight.
Paymonade said its MiCA status strengthens its ability to work with banks, fintech firms, and digital asset businesses that want compliant access to European fiat infrastructure. Chief Executive Officer Milos Winter Bogdanovic said the company is in discussions with multiple financial and technology entities seeking regulated routes into Europe’s payments ecosystem.
The company was founded by Singapore national Calvin Cheng, a former Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore. Cheng has also held roles connected to regulated financial institutions in Switzerland and Asia. Paymonade’s approval adds a Singapore-origin name to a MiCA register that is largely made up of European and American firms.
A smaller field of approved firms
The scale of the regulatory shift is visible in the drop from more than 3,000 previously registered crypto-related businesses to about 280 MiCA-authorised firms. The difference does not necessarily mean every excluded company was unsafe or inactive, but it does show how much stricter the new framework has become.
Some firms may have chosen not to apply because Europe was not central to their business. Others may still be working through applications, restructuring operations, or withdrawing from the region. But for companies that continue to serve European users without approval, the legal position has become increasingly difficult.
The European Securities and Markets Authority issued a notice on June 23, 2026, warning that unapproved crypto-asset service providers must wind down unauthorised activity after the transition period. The message was direct: firms without proper authorisation cannot keep onboarding new clients, marketing services, or operating as if the old national regimes still apply.
National regulators are expected to monitor companies that remain active without MiCA approval. Unauthorised firms may be allowed only enough time to let existing customers exit positions or withdraw funds in an orderly way. They are not permitted to use that period to continue normal commercial operations.
That creates a practical issue for customers who still hold assets on platforms that have not secured MiCA approval. If a provider is no longer legally allowed to serve the region, services may be restricted, accounts may face limitations, and open positions may need to be closed under tight timelines.
The risk is not only regulatory. When a company is forced to stop serving a market quickly, customer support, liquidity access, banking arrangements, and withdrawal processing can all come under pressure. The more sudden the exit, the greater the likelihood of operational disruption.
What customers need to verify
For European crypto users, the first question is now straightforward: does the platform or service provider appear on the official MiCA public register?
A firm’s past registration under a national anti-money laundering regime may no longer be enough. MiCA authorisation is a separate legal status. Customers should confirm whether their provider has the right approval for the specific services being offered.
Official public registers are maintained by regulators and provide the most reliable source of information. Company websites and marketing statements may not always be up to date, particularly during a fast-moving transition period. A firm claiming to be “regulated” should be checked against the relevant official register.
If a platform lacks authorisation and continues to serve customers in the EEA, users may need to consider moving assets to a regulated provider or transferring them to a self-hosted wallet where they retain direct control of private keys. Such decisions depend on a person’s own risk needs, technical ability, and the type of assets involved.
For active traders, the situation is more urgent. Non-compliant companies may be required to stop taking new orders, close marketing campaigns, block new account openings, or force the wind-down of open trades. In some cases, platforms may have to reduce services quickly to comply with regulator instructions.
Authorities have indicated that unapproved entities should hold customer assets only for the minimum period needed to permit an orderly exit. That means customers who wait too long could face narrower withdrawal windows, limited service access, or additional documentation checks as firms move into shutdown mode.
Compliance becomes a competitive dividing line
Paymonade’s licence highlights how regulatory authorisation is becoming a major competitive dividing line in digital finance. The market is moving from a registration-based era, where many firms operated under lighter local requirements, to a licence-based system with deeper scrutiny.
For infrastructure providers, compliance is no longer a back-office issue. It is becoming a core part of market access. Banks and fintech firms are generally unwilling to build long-term partnerships with crypto businesses that lack clear legal status, especially in a region as heavily regulated as Europe.
That is one reason MiCA could reshape the industry beyond the number of companies appearing on the register. Firms that pass the authorisation process may gain stronger access to banking partners, payment systems, and institutional relationships. Those that do not may find themselves pushed to the margins or forced to stop serving European customers entirely.
The new regime may also change how global digital asset companies prioritise Europe. Some may accept the higher compliance cost to remain in the market. Others may decide the operational burden is too great and redirect resources elsewhere. For customers, the immediate effect is a smaller but more clearly regulated group of providers.
Paymonade is positioning itself in the first category. By securing authorisation early in the post-transition period, the company can market itself as a regulated bridge between traditional finance and digital assets in Europe.
Still, the broader market remains unsettled. With the transition period now over, regulators are likely to focus on enforcement, especially against firms that continue to solicit European customers without approval. The coming months will show how aggressively national watchdogs act and how quickly unauthorised platforms withdraw from the region.
For now, the direction of travel is clear. Europe has moved from fragmented national oversight to a single rulebook for crypto-asset services. The number of authorised firms has fallen sharply, the compliance bar has risen, and companies with valid MiCA licences now hold a stronger position in the region’s digital asset infrastructure market.
As MiCA reshapes Europe’s crypto landscape, explore how digital assets are redefining compliant, cross-border financial infrastructure.
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