Ten years ago, getting a crypto company fully licensed in Europe felt like a long shot. Today, it is starting to look like a competitive advantage.
That is exactly where CoinGate now finds itself.
The Lithuania-based crypto payments and stablecoin platform has been granted a full MiCA license by the Bank of Lithuania, along with a payment institution license. That makes CoinGate the first homegrown Lithuanian company to secure full approval under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework.
For CoinGate, this is not just a regulatory box checked. It is a green light to scale.
We are now MiCA licensed! 🎉
— CoinGate (@CoinGatecom) December 17, 2025
Approved by the Bank of Lithuania, we’re the first crypto payment processor licensed in Lithuania.
MiCA brings clear EU-wide rules that strengthen trust and security for businesses using crypto payments.
A key milestone for our growth in Europe. 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/cNHNHK39Yw
Why this license actually matters
MiCA is not a local permit. It is a passport to the entire European Economic Area.
With this approval, CoinGate can legally offer regulated crypto services across all EU member states without applying country by country. One license. One rulebook. A lot less friction. The approval was officially issued on December 16, 2025, right as MiCA moves from theory into real-world enforcement.
For businesses using crypto for cross-border payments, this kind of clarity is rare and valuable. It reduces regulatory risk, improves trust, and makes compliance far more predictable.
CoinGate is playing the long game
CoinGate CEO Vilius Semėnas made it clear that this moment has been years in the making. After operating for more than a decade, the MiCA license becomes the foundation for what comes next.
The company plans to expand beyond pure crypto payments and continue building reliable financial infrastructure that blends blockchain, stablecoins, and electronic money tokens. Choosing Lithuania was not about convenience. It was about trust.
Semėnas pointed to the demanding but professional supervision of the Bank of Lithuania as a key reason CoinGate pursued licensing at home first.
That choice now looks smart.
MiCA raises the bar for everyone
MiCA officially came into force at the end of 2024, after being adopted by the EU in 2023. It sets strict standards for crypto service providers across Europe.
To qualify, companies must meet capital requirements, maintain strong governance, implement risk controls, and comply fully with AML and KYC rules. Customer funds must be safeguarded, and disclosures must be clear and transparent.
This does increase operating costs and makes entry harder for new players. But that is the point.
The trade-off is a more mature, more trusted crypto market, especially for enterprises that care about legal certainty and long-term stability.
What comes next for CoinGate
CoinGate has been operating since 2014 and has steadily expanded its tools for crypto payments, payouts, and cross-asset FX. With MiCA in hand, the company plans to double down on platform development, strengthen compliance systems, and explore expansion beyond Europe.
In a market where regulation is quickly separating serious operators from the rest, CoinGate just moved itself into the first category.
And in 2026, that may matter more than ever.
