MiCA’s July 1 deadline is Europe’s first crypto user-migration test – OKX interview
MiCA’s transitional period ends July 1, and unauthorized crypto exchanges in the EU must stop onboarding new clients, opening accounts, and marketing. They may only close out positions, transfer assets, and keep custody briefly for wind-down. Once outside that perimeter, clients lose MiCA protections, including asset safeguards. Enforcement may hinge on app stores: if offshore exchange apps remain available in Apple and Google stores, they can still appear accessible to EU users through localization, support, and reverse-solicitation claims. ESMA says reverse solicitation is narrow and EU-language apps, push alerts, affiliates, or sponsorships can undermine it. OKX says deposits from non-MiCA platforms have surged ahead of the deadline, suggesting users are already moving. The likely outcome is either clean delisting and migration to licensed exchanges, or a continued offshore market operating through app-store loopholes, alternative installs, and weakly supervised exits.
