In 2026, Europe will become the largest regulated Bitcoin and crypto market in the world
- For almost a decade, Europe has been a somewhat passive observer of the crypto markets in the US and Southeast Asia.
- But now, thanks to the EU and its MiCAR regulation, Europe has developed into a global industry heavyweight.
The USA is hindering itself through unresolved questions of regulatory responsibilities. Although Asia is dynamic in the crypto market, it is even more inconsistent. This is due to China, because its leadership regularly stumbles over its own political ideology, despite knowledge of how the real crypto market works.
Meanwhile, thanks to the EU, the world’s largest unified crypto market is emerging in Europe – with clear rules, growing participation of traditional institutions and broad acceptance by the population.
MiCAR as a global model
With the MiCAR Regulation – “Markets in Crypto-Assets” – the EU created the world’s most comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets in 2024/25. MiCA defines uniform rules for the first time
- Crypto exchanges and custodians
- Token and stablecoin issuers
- Market integrity and market transparency.
This harmonization creates a single market with over 450 million potential customers – an economic heavyweight that could set nothing less than a global benchmark: the MiCA rules have an impact far beyond their original jurisdiction.
Europe is overtaking the USA and Asia
According to Chainalysis, Europe reached record transaction volumes between July 2023 and June 2025. In the first half of 2025 alone it was $234,000 billion – a historic value.
What is remarkable is that the recovery of the European crypto industry after the 2024 crisis was faster and stronger than in other parts of the world. The distribution of roles of the states within Europe has changed:
- Russia has become Europe’s largest market with $376 billion in transaction volume.
- Despite Brexit, Great Britain follows as an innovative center with $273 billion.
- Germany, France, Poland and Ukraine have growth rates of over 50 percent and are rapidly catching up.
Europe and the EU are not a monolithic block, but consist of at least three sub-markets with several hot spots.
The use of cryptocurrencies is continuously increasing in Europe. According to the European Central Bank, nine percent of adults in the Eurozone owned crypto in 2024–Assets – more than twice as many as in 2022. Slovenia, Greece, Ireland and Austria achieve particularly high values.
The MiCAR have created the necessary legal certainty. In less than two years, Europe has become an anchor of stability in the global crypto industry.
MiCAR set standards not only in Europe, but also globally, as other regions are already following the MiCA regulations in order to survive in international competition.
In recent years, the EU has built the largest regulated crypto market in the world. It is the result of a political and economic strategy that relies on clarity, stability and institutional participation.
While authorities in the USA are at loggerheads with one another over regulatory powers and Asia is dynamic but highly fragmented, Europe has a unified market.
Other geographical focuses in Europe
New priorities have emerged within Europe. Despite the Ukraine war and sanctions, Russia has become the region’s largest single market with a transaction volume of $376 billion.
This is followed by Great Britain, which despite Brexit continues to have London as a global financial and innovation center.
Germany, France, Poland and Ukraine are also recording strong growth rates.
Europe therefore not only consists of the homogenized EU internal market with 450,000,000 inhabitants, but also of other crypto hotspots, each of which brings its own strengths.
No Comments