Buy-side CASP acquisition · Austria
Buy a CASP in Austria: MiCA-authorised crypto licence
The Austrian Financial Market Authority began processing CASP authorisations under MiCA on 20 July 2024 and has since handed Austria a credibility lead in the EU crypto-licensing field. We broker change-of-control transactions on FMA-supervised CASPs to acquirers who want the regulator quality, not a fast-track entry.
Why Austria
A regulator-quality MiCA jurisdiction, not a speed play
The Österreichische Finanzmarktaufsicht (FMA) is the competent authority for crypto-asset service providers in Austria under Article 62 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. Authorisation runs through the FMA’s Securities Supervision department, which assesses governance, AML/CFT controls, operational substance, and shareholder fit-and-properness against the same yardstick the supervisor applies to investment firms. Austria was among the first EU member states to operationalise MiCA at a national level, beating most peers to a working application channel.
The credibility signal hardened in 2025 when AMINA Bank’s Austrian subsidiary became the first crypto-banking group anywhere in the EU to secure a full MiCA-CASP authorisation. The takeaway for an acquirer is not the headline. It is what the headline confirms: the FMA can move complex applicants through the file, the supervisory dialogue is in working English, and the resulting authorisation is recognised across the EEA without further notification beyond Article 65 passporting.
Austria is a credibility play. Acquirers picking it are pricing in regulator quality and EU-wide recognition, not authorisation tempo. The trade-off is real. You will not out-pace Lithuania or Malta on a pure timeline race, but you will close on a file that institutional counterparties and EU banks treat as first-tier from day one.
What a MiCA-CASP authorisation permits
Title V scope, Article 67 capital classes, and the obligations a buyer inherits
An Austrian CASP authorisation is granted under MiCA Title V and unlocks the full menu of crypto-asset services: custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients, exchange of crypto-assets for funds, exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets, execution of orders, placing of crypto-assets, reception and transmission of orders, advice, portfolio management, transfer services, and operation of a trading platform. Each service in scope is named in the authorisation, and adding a service post-issue requires an Article 64 modification.
Permanent minimum own funds sit at three levels under Article 67. Class 1 services (advice, reception/transmission, transfers) are floored at EUR 50,000. Class 2 services (execution, exchange, placing) raise the floor to EUR 125,000. Class 3 (custody, operation of a trading platform) takes it to EUR 150,000. The permanent minimum is the floor only; the binding figure is the higher of the floor and one quarter of the preceding year’s fixed overheads. For a target with material operating expenses, the overheads test is what matters at the deal table.
Article 75 requires segregation of clients’ crypto-assets from the CASP’s own holdings, with reconciliation discipline and clear contractual disclosures. Article 68 sets the prudential governance frame: at least two fit-and-proper executive directors with crypto-relevant experience, an organisational structure proportionate to the service mix, internal control and compliance functions resourced to do their job, and a documented business continuity plan. The acquirer inherits all of this (including any open supervisory correspondence) at completion.
What we broker here
The Austrian CASP files we work with
The Austrian CASP book is small and the inventory is shallow. Our Austria mandates fall into a few patterns: former VASP registrants who completed the transition to MiCA-CASP and are exiting on the back of a strategic decision; greenfield entities that obtained authorisation explicitly with an exit in mind; and Austrian subsidiaries of foreign crypto-banking groups whose parent has restructured the group’s licence stack and is divesting one node.
Our diligence gates on every Austria file are banking continuity (the EU credit institution holding segregated client crypto-asset proceeds and the timeline to re-paper on change-of-control), the AML programme under FM-GwG (transaction-monitoring tooling, sanctions screening, the MLRO’s seniority and replaceability), the substance pillar (Vienna-based compliance, risk and IT-operations leads who must remain post-completion to satisfy the FMA), and the technology stack (custody architecture, key-management arrangements, and which third-party providers are in the audit perimeter). We do not list the same target with multiple acquirers, and we will not present an entity we have not personally diligenced against the FMA’s published expectations.
Acquisition path
Article 83 change-of-control, in practice
The acquisition mechanic for a CASP in Austria is governed by Article 83 of MiCA. Any proposed acquirer of a qualifying holding (10%, 20%, 30%, or 50% thresholds, or any holding that confers control) must notify the FMA in writing before the transaction completes. The FMA acknowledges the notification, opens the assessment window of up to 60 working days, and may extend it once by a further 30 working days when it requests additional information. Assessment criteria mirror the rest of the EU prudential framework: reputation of the proposed acquirer, suitability of incoming directors, financial soundness, ability to comply with MiCA on an ongoing basis, and AML/CFT risk.
What shortens the window is a complete dossier delivered with the initial notification, not after the supervisor’s first request for further information. We build that dossier with our acquirers before signing: UBO disclosure, sources-of-funds, group ownership chart, three-year prudential plan, governance arrangements at the target post-completion. See the acquisition process for the standing checklist.
Why Cadena
Where our buy-side CASP mandate beats the alternatives
- FMA-fluent dossiers. Our acquirers’ Article 83 packages are written to the FMA’s published assessment framework before signing, not retrofitted after the supervisor pushes back. That converts a procedural 60-working-day window into a working one.
- Single-side mandate, every file. We act for the acquirer only. The Austrian target’s adviser sits across the table from us on every CASP transaction we run — never on the same side. That removes the conflict-of-interest cloud that mixed-mandate brokers carry into a regulator’s review.
- Pan-EU comparability. If the Austria thesis weakens during diligence, we move to a comparable MiCA-CASP file in another member state without resetting the engagement. The same diligence framework applies in Lithuania, Malta, Ireland and France.
FAQ
Frequently asked — Austrian CASP and MiCA acquisitions
Can I buy a CASP in Austria rather than apply de novo?
Yes, when the underlying entity holds a current FMA authorisation under Article 63 of MiCA. The transaction is a change-of-control under Article 83: you notify the FMA of the proposed qualifying holding, the supervisor runs a fit-and-proper assessment of the acquirer and incoming directors, and the deal completes on the supervisor’s non-objection. We broker only entities whose authorisation is live and whose current management have signalled willingness to exit on a clean change-of-control basis.
What is the difference between a CASP and a MiCA licence in Austria?
They are the same authorisation, named two ways. “MiCA licence” is the colloquial name acquirers use because the regulation creates the regime; “CASP authorisation” is what the FMA actually issues, because the authorised entity is a Crypto-Asset Service Provider. The licence text references Title V of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. Both terms point at the same FMA decision and the same passporting rights across the EEA.
Is there a MiCA licence for sale in Austria today?
The Austrian CASP book is shallow. Most authorisations belong to going-concern operators who built towards the licence intentionally. We do see exit conversations — primarily from former VASP registrants who completed the MiCA transition and are reassessing their footprint, and from Austrian subsidiaries inside larger crypto-banking groups undergoing restructure. Our buy-side mandate is to find one that fits the acquirer’s thesis, not to publish a public inventory list.
What does FMA approval involve when the controller changes?
Article 83 of MiCA governs the procedure. The proposed acquirer files a written qualifying-holding notification before the transaction closes; the FMA has up to 60 working days to assess (extendable by 30 working days when further information is requested); the assessment covers reputation, suitability, financial soundness, MiCA-compliance capability, and AML/CFT risk. A complete dossier at notification — UBO chain, sources of funds, business plan, governance — is what keeps the supervisor inside the original window.
What capital must an Austrian CASP hold under MiCA?
Article 67 sets a permanent minimum own-funds floor of EUR 50,000 for Class 1 services (advice, reception and transmission of orders, transfers), EUR 125,000 for Class 2 (execution, exchange of crypto-assets for funds or for other crypto-assets, placing) and EUR 150,000 for Class 3 (custody and administration, operation of a trading platform). The binding figure is the higher of the permanent floor and one quarter of the previous year’s fixed overheads. On a mature operating target, the overheads test almost always sets the level.
Next step
Open a buy-side mandate on Austrian CASPs
If your acquisition thesis points at MiCA-CASP coverage with Austrian regulator quality, send us your acquisition criteria. We come back with the targets that match: pre-vetted on FMA standing, banking continuity, AML programme, and Article 83 readiness. If Austria is not the right fit on diligence, the same engagement covers EU CASP comparables in adjacent member states.
