Is Mercado Bitcoin MiCA-licensed?
Status checked on 2 August 2026 against the official ESMA register
Mercado Bitcoin does not hold a verified MiCA CASP licence. Mercado Bitcoin Serviços Digitais is Brazil’s largest exchange. It was founded in São Paulo in 2013. The company committed €50m to EU expansion through Portugal in late 2025 and says it is pursuing MiCA authorisation. No CASP entry had appeared in the ESMA register at our last review.
Practical effect: Mercado Bitcoin has no verified CASP authorisation. Check the contracting entity and any separate permissions before you rely on MiCA conduct, safeguarding or complaint rights.
See the tracked MiCA-licensed exchanges, or read what changed on 1 July 2026.
At a glance
- Supervising or reporting authority
- None recorded
- Entity jurisdiction or country context
- Brazil
- EEA MiCA authorisation
- Not authorised in the EEA
- MiCA register route
- No current entry
- Register entry date
- No current entry date
- EEA passporting
- No
- Exchange type
- CEX
- MiCA services
- Not recorded in the current register
Common questions
Can I still use Mercado Bitcoin from the EU?
MiCA does not itself make account holding illegal. National and product rules can still apply. Since 1 July 2026, an in-scope provider generally needs an Article 63 authorisation or an eligible Article 60 notification route. Mercado Bitcoin can apply location restrictions or close user accounts.
Is money on Mercado Bitcoin protected under MiCA?
Mercado Bitcoin has no verified CASP authorisation. Do not assume that MiCA conduct, safeguarding or EU-regulator complaint rights apply to the service. Verify the contracting entity and any separate permissions.
Is there a MiCA-licensed alternative to Mercado Bitcoin?
Yes. 51 of the exchanges we track have current MiCA register entries. The licensed list shows each mapped entity, regulator and entry date.
