During the Paris Blockchain Week (April 8-10, 2025), the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) was a prominent topic. Key industry figures, including Jason Allegrante, Chief Legal Compliance Officer at Fireblocks, and Iana Dimitrova, CEO of OpenPayd, voiced their perspectives.

Jason Allegrante’s Insights

Allegrante emphasized that MiCA signifies a shift for many Eurozone companies from unregulated to regulated environments, presenting both challenges and opportunities:

“With MiCA, we’re obviously seeing a migration for companies in the Eurozone… This challenge is an opportunity for us at Fireblocks.”

He highlights that while MiCA introduces new compliance requirements, it could drive innovation in the crypto industry.

Reevaluation of Stablecoins

Furthermore, Allegrante expressed concerns regarding stablecoin regulations, suggesting:

“MiCA marks significant progress for the crypto industry, but stablecoin restrictions require reevaluation.”

Discussion on DORA

Additionally, he discussed the EU’s new **Digital Operational Resilience Regulation (DORA), stating:

“Becoming a CASP under MiCA means also complying with DORA. It represents a higher standard for service providers.”

He noted Fireblocks’ commitment to security and continuous improvement, including undergoing DORA audits which challenge their assumptions about customer service models.

Iana Dimitrova’s Perspective

Iana Dimitrova shared her experience with MiCA, stating it was manageable for OpenPayd due to their established compliance frameworks:

“The practical experience of applying for the virtual financial asset license was fairly straightforward, given our compliance experience.”

However, she acknowledged that other companies without such infrastructure may face significant hurdles.

Conclusion

Both leaders agree on MiCA’s potential to reshape the crypto landscape, urging industry stakeholders to embrace these regulatory changes to foster growth and stability.