Mr. Consob is asking VASP to secure CASP approval or close down by December 30, 2025. This comes as the deadline for transition to the new MiCAR policy approaches. Fraudulent operators will have their services terminated and user assets returned.
Italy’s financial regulator Consob has issued an urgent appeal to digital asset investors and operators as the country moves closer to introducing the MiCAR policy.
According to a press release late yesterday, Mr. Consob stressed that the last day that VASPs (virtual asset service providers) operating under the current regime can offer services without full authorization is December 30, 2025.
Mr Consob warned that operators who do not comply with the transition risk being banned.
Therefore, VASPs operating in Italy must comply with EU crypto market regulations or exit the market.
The press release highlights:
December 30, 2025 is the last day that virtual asset service providers (VASPs, operators currently offering virtual asset services such as virtual currency exchanges) registered with OAM (Organismo Agenti e Mediatori, or Agent and Broker Organization) can continue to operate.
MiCAR resets Italy’s regulatory rulebook
For many years, Italian regulators have only wanted VASPs to secure an OAM (Organismo Agenti e Mediatori) certificate to allow them to operate seamlessly.
MiCAR, on the other hand, introduced stricter rules, with only fully authorized crypto asset service providers (CASPs) being allowed to provide services to the European Union.
Authorization procedures, on the other hand, include operational checks, client protection requirements, supervisory controls, and existing monitoring. This is much stricter than the previous model.
Consob stressed that VASP will only operate if it applies for CASP certification in Italy or another European Union member state by December 30th.
Entities that submit applications by this deadline can continue to provide services until a final decision is made, but all entities must comply with MiCAR by June 30, 2026.
What’s next for investors?
Consob issued a warning to both operators and everyday cryptocurrency users.
Investors should promptly check whether their preferred service providers plan to comply with the new policies and requirements.
There are two important things you can monitor here.
First and foremost, investors should check whether the operator has published a MiCAR transition plan.
Second, investors should check the regulatory status of the provider after the deadline.
VASPs that did not apply or were unable to obtain approval will no longer be able to operate in Italy from 30 December, and their customers will be able to request the return of their assets in accordance with such developments.
Meanwhile, Mr. Consob confirmed that he had issued multiple warnings to operators during the transition phase, highlighting the September last year, the renewal in July 2025, and the October 31 notification for companies that still only hold OAM certificates.
Some operators see MiCAR as a path to regulated international operations, while others see the new regulation as the end of the road.
Meanwhile, digital asset investors should remain vigilant, check the regulatory status of their providers, and act before they find themselves locked out or forced to make a last-minute withdrawal due to the new MiCAR regulations.
