Venga opens its MiCA license to companies building crypto products in Europe via its API-first offering

Spanish crypto platform Venga, which is Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) authorized, has said that it would open the regulated infrastructure built for its own consumer app to other companies.

The company noted that getting MiCA authorized in the European Union is not exactly a stroll in the park, with many firms still working to get the license, while some have adjusted their offerings to stay compliant. 

Venga’s cofounder and CEO, Michael Stroev, confirmed this in the company statement, saying, “MiCA has changed the economics of building a crypto business in Europe.”

What Venga is offering as a solution to some of these challenges is a B2B API-first solution. This allows partner companies to plug selected crypto services into their own platforms while Venga maintains the technology and regulated layer.

Stroev said, “As the cost and complexity of operating regulated infrastructure increase, we expect more companies to focus on the user experience, branding, and customer relationships where they create value, while relying on specialized providers for the infrastructure underneath,” while adding that “not every company needs to become a full-stack crypto operator.”

What is Venga putting on the market?

Companies that integrate with Venga’s API can offer buying, selling, swapping, and custody of crypto assets inside their own products, while Venga provides the operational layer, which includes “customer onboarding, KYC, AML, regulatory reporting and compliance oversight.” 

However, Venga says that this is subject to what is applicable in the partnership model.

Venga stated that its offerings are targeted at firms that want to simplify their crypto operations, as more fintechs and financial institutions are adding digital assets to their existing products. 

International businesses that are expanding to the European bloc are also on Venga’s radar as potential customers. 

Why is MiCA pushing companies toward rented infrastructure?

MiCA replaced a patchwork of national registrations with a single authorization and set a higher bar for clearing it. The number of authorized firms is still very low compared to the numbers seen during the previous national regimes.

Before the regulator signs off to approve firms, the applicant must show compliance across governance, capital adequacy, operational resilience, cybersecurity, internal controls, risk management and customer protection.

It also has a minimum capital requirement of €50,000 for advisory services and reaches €150,000 for trading platforms.

Also, July 1 was the deadline for national rollout of the regulation by member states of the European Union. 

However, a few states are yet to issue any local licenses and failed to meet up with the deadline. It is one of the reasons that caused some crypto heavyweights that opened shop in those countries with the hope of offering their services across the bloc to wind down.

Smaller platforms have also left the market because they could not meet the cost of full authorization.

This is the market that Venga is trying to serve, where it provides a licensed infrastructure arrangement with firms. 

For firms that do not have a license, this is the quickest legal route to offer crypto services. 

Venga received its authorization from Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) on July 1, the same day the transitional period for pre-MiCA firms ended, making it the first Catalan crypto investment platform to clear the process. It had previously held a Bank of Spain registration that covered only Spain. The new license gives it access to operate across all 27 member states.