Goobit rejected, 38 Nordic licences, Sweden's MiCA aftermath — Fri 3 Jul

MiCA's first week is done — and Sweden has the most to explain. One licence, one rejection, and one exchange already moving its customers to a licensed sister company in Finland.

Some of the stories in today's edition:

💎 38 licensed firms across the Nordics and Baltics — the full picture
💎 Sweden: only Safello made it through on day one
💎 Goobit/BTCX rejected and must wind down — K33 is watching
💎 GreenMerc moves Trijo customers to Finnish Northcrypto via passporting
💎 Kriptomat: three years of compliance, one unpredictable regulator

— Morten

Kaupr has mapped every licensed crypto firm across the Nordic and Baltic region as MiCA's transition period ended on July 1. Latvia leads with 9 licences, followed by Lithuania with 8, Estonia with 7, Finland with 6, Norway with 5, Denmark with 2 and Sweden with 1. Iceland has none. The full list covers exchanges, brokers, custodians and stablecoin issuers — and reveals stark differences in how national regulators interpreted the same rulebook.

Why it matters: 38 licences across seven countries is the baseline from which Nordic and Baltic crypto markets will now operate. The gap between Latvia's 9 and Sweden's 1 is not a coincidence — it reflects years of divergent regulatory priorities.

Source: MiCA's full picture: 38 licensed firms in the Nordics and Baltics — Kaupr

With MiCA in force, the licensed players — Firi, K33, Safello and others — are now actively competing for the institutional, private banking and family office segment that unlicensed operators can no longer serve. K33 is explicitly targeting high-net-worth clients not bound by geography. Firi is pursuing European expansion from its Norwegian base. Safello is the only Swedish operator with a licence on day one.

Why it matters: MiCA did not just create compliance requirements — it created a competitive moat. The firms that prepared now have a window to acquire clients from the exchanges that didn't.

Source: The battle for the Nordics' biggest crypto clients is on after MiCA — Kaupr

As of July 1, Finansinspektionen had approved just one MiCA licence in Sweden — Safello — out of multiple applicants. Sweden had one of the most active pre-MiCA crypto markets in the Nordics, but its national regulator processed applications at a pace that left most operators without authorisation on day one.

Why it matters: Sweden's single licence on day one is not a reflection of its crypto market — it is a reflection of its regulator. Swedish users now face a market where most familiar platforms are unlicensed, and Safello holds the only domestically approved option.

Source: MiCA deadline passed: only one company approved in Sweden — Kaupr

On July 1, Kaupr reported that Goobit — operating BTCX — had not received its MiCA licence from Finansinspektionen, even as the transition period officially ended. The exchange had been actively communicating about European expansion, but its application remained pending.

Source: Goobit/BTCX still awaiting MiCA licence in Sweden — Kaupr

On July 2, Finansinspektionen formally rejected Goobit AB's application for a CASP licence under MiCA. The Swedish regulator did not publicly disclose the specific grounds for rejection. Goobit has not yet confirmed whether it will appeal the decision or pursue authorisation through another EEA regulator.

Why it matters: Goobit's rejection — the day after the deadline — is the clearest signal yet that Finansinspektionen applied strict standards. The decision leaves BTCX users without a domestically licensed platform.

Source: Finansinspektionen rejects Goobit AB's MiCA application — Kaupr

K33 — one of Norway's leading licensed crypto firms — told Kaupr it is monitoring the situation closely following Finansinspektionen's rejection of Goobit's MiCA application. K33 has not made a formal approach, but confirmed it would be open to discussing a customer transfer arrangement if Goobit chooses that route.

Why it matters: The Goobit rejection is creating a commercial opportunity for licensed Nordic operators. K33's public positioning signals that the consolidation phase after MiCA is already beginning.

Source: K33 awaits Goobit's next move after MiCA rejection — Kaupr

Following Finansinspektionen's rejection, Goobit/BTCX must now wind down its crypto trading operations in an orderly manner, per FI's directive. Key personnel in IT, marketing, legal and finance are no longer working at the company, and one option under consideration is transferring customers to a licensed competitor.

Why it matters: Goobit's wind-down is the most concrete example yet of MiCA removing an established operator from the market — not through failure, but through regulatory process. The listed company now faces an orderly exit from a business it has operated for years.

Source: Goobit/BTCX must wind down crypto trading — Kaupr

GreenMerc — parent company of Swedish exchange Trijo and Finnish exchange Northcrypto — has begun migrating Trijo's Swedish customers to Northcrypto, which holds a MiCA licence from Finland's FIN-FSA. The move uses MiCA's passporting principle to serve Swedish users through the Finnish entity while GreenMerc simultaneously appeals its rejected Swedish application.

Why it matters: This is MiCA passporting working exactly as designed — a licensed entity in one EEA country serving users in another. For Swedish crypto users, it is also a preview of what the market will look like when domestic licensing is absent.

Source: GreenMerc moves Swedish Trijo customers to Finnish Northcrypto — Kaupr

Kriptomat co-founder Dejan Davidović told Kaupr that the Estonian exchange spent three years and significant resources preparing for MiCA, only to encounter a national regulator whose requirements shifted throughout the process. The company ultimately received its licence, but Davidović was direct about the experience: the inconsistency between what MiCA promised and what national regulators delivered made planning nearly impossible. (Source: CEO interview)

Why it matters: Kriptomat's experience puts a human face on MiCA's structural flaw — one rulebook, 30 regulators, wildly different implementation. For any operator planning EEA expansion, the choice of licensing jurisdiction is now as strategic as the compliance work itself.

Source: Kriptomat founder spent three years on compliance, met unpredictable regulator — Kaupr

Thank you for reading Kaupr Today. If you find this briefing useful, please share it with a colleague or friend who should be following Nordic and European digital‑finance news more closely.

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Wishing you a great Friday — and have a wonderful weekend.

Best regards Morten Myrstad Founder & Editor