MiCA's transitional deadline closed on July 1st, 2026.
Some of the biggest names in the industry lost the ability to serve European clients overnight.
But one jurisdiction rose to become a MiCA licensing hub: Malta.
It's now ranked 4th for CASP (Crypto Asset Service Providers) authorizations, and 2nd for Other Crypto Assets.
In this episode, we spoke with Joseph Axisa, Managing Partner at Axis, a MiCA advisory practice based in Malta, working with some of the industry's most recognisable names, including Arbitrum DAO, Rain, Ether.Fi, Rhinofi, and Legion.cc
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Topics covered:
(0:00) Coming Up
(2:56) Joseph’s story into digital assets
(6:30) Overview of Axis services
(8:16) How companies navigated MiCA compliance
(11:55) Choosing Malta for MiCA compliance
(17:48) Filing requirements post MiCA licence
(19:19) Submitting a MiCA whitepaper
(25:23) Common objections from regulator
(27:45) Get 10% off with Kryptos subledger
(29:10) Title II whitepaper & Other Category
(31:57) Do all L1 & L2s need MiCA licence
(32:44) PSD2 and EMD2 v/s MiCA for payment platforms
(37:29) Interpreting onchain actions and smart contracts for MiCA
(39:56) Etherscan as a passive front-end
(42:46) Decentralization exemption under Recital 22
(45:17) DeFi protocols and MiCA
(47:14) Reverse solicitation v/s direct solicitation
(49:47) Onchain vaults don’t trigger MiCA, but AIFMD
(57:53) How Axis Advisory uses AI
(01:04:00) Closing thoughts
(01:05:09) Favourite quote
(01:05:57) How to reach out to Joseph & Axis
