Lightspark Payments Europe AS said on Wednesday that Estonia’s Financial Supervision Authority (Finantsinspektsioon) had authorised it as both a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA and an electronic money institution.
Finantsinspektsioon confirmed the company is the first standalone MiCA CASP licence holder in Estonia. As of June 30, it was the only MiCA-authorised firm in the country, according to the regulator.
With the dual authorisation, Lightspark can run money movement and crypto services under one regulated entity and passport the setup throughout the EU and EEA. It said its first offerings will be cross-border payouts and fiat-to-stablecoin on/off ramps, followed later by virtual accounts, card issuance, and stablecoin issuance.
“Our European customers get one regulated home for payments and crypto. We’re helping partners expand internationally without spending years on licensing and compliance in each new market,” David Marcus, CEO and co-founder of Lightspark, said.
Estonia’s July 1 deadline
The authorisation comes as Estonia’s MiCA transitional period ends. From July 1, crypto-asset services in Estonia may only be provided by firms holding MiCA-based authorisation from Finantsinspektsioon or another competent EEA authority. Firms without authorisation must stop or limit activity, and may not accept new clients or actively market to EEA customers.
