Woofun AI reports that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has slowed its licensing velocity, adding only 14 new crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) register. This latest update, which includes Ripple Payments Europe alongside traditional lenders like Bison Bank and Hrvatska poštanska banka (HPB), marks a deceleration from the initial post-deadline surge.

The quantitative shift is evident when comparing this Thursday’s update to the previous expansion on July 3, which saw 37 CASPs added in the first major post-deadline batch. With the current addition of 14 entities, the cumulative total of licensed CASPs now stands at 294, reflecting a more measured regulatory approval process following the end of MiCA’s transitional period.

Structurally, the register continues to absorb traditional financial institutions, signaling a broader institutionalization of Europe’s crypto market. Beyond the previously mentioned banks, the update incorporated German cooperative banks Volksbank Schwarzwald-Donau-Neckar and Raiffeisenbank Auerbach-Freihung, as well as Liechtenstein’s Kaiser Partner Privatbank. This trend aligns with the existing presence of major players such as Spain’s BBVA and CaixaBank, Germany’s Commerzbank, France’s CACEIS Bank, and Standard Chartered Luxembourg.

Per Woofun AI, the registers for specific token categories remained static during this update. The electronic money tokens (EMTs) register, which tracks assets pegged to a single official currency, still lists 21 unique issuers.

Meanwhile, the asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) register, covering assets linked to multiple currencies or commodities, continues to show zero approved issuers.

In contrast to the licensing approvals, the non-compliant register expanded following actions by Italy’s securities regulator, CONSOB. Reversal Investment Group and Kortex were added to the blacklist, bringing the total number of non-compliant entities to 164. This list notably includes the crypto exchange MEXC, highlighting the regulator’s ongoing enforcement efforts against unregistered operators.