5 mins read
Dateline: YouHodler Italy, regulatory licence, 13 October 2026
YouHodler Italy S.r.l. said on 13 October 2026 that CONSOB, Italy’s markets regulator, authorised it as a crypto-asset service provider under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) by resolution no. 24156 of 8 October 2026, after hearing the Bank of Italy, according to the company’s release. The authorisation, Fintechbits notes, covers five services and none of them is lending, even though YouHodler’s own website markets crypto-backed cash at a loan-to-value of up to 90%. YouHodler Italy plans to extend its services to all 27 EU member states through MiCA’s passporting procedure.
Deal: Resolution no. 24156 of 8 October 2026 under Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 and Legislative Decree 129/2024Market: Italy, with plans to passport to all 27 EU member states
What the YouHodler Italy authorisation covers
The authorisation lists five services: custody and administration of crypto-assets for clients, exchange of crypto-assets for funds, exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets, execution of orders on behalf of clients, and transfer services. With it, YouHodler Italy serves Italian clients as a supervised firm subject to MiCA’s protections, which the release lists as segregation of client assets, governance and security requirements, pre-contractual information and complaints handling.
Ilya Volkov, YouHodler’s co-founder, said the brand launched in Switzerland and has grown across Europe, and called the Italian authorisation “an important step.” The company was advised through the process by the law firm Lener & Partners, according to the release.
The licence also opens the rest of the EU. Under MiCA, a provider authorised in one member state can notify regulators and serve clients in the others, and YouHodler Italy says it intends to do that across all 27.
How crowded the Italian market is
The release carries a useful number about the market itself. Lorenzo Barbantini Scanni, chief business officer of YouHodler Italy, said that at the end of the transitional period in June 2026, “nine firms were authorised to provide crypto-asset services, against some 140 operators that had been on the OAM register.” He added that “about 1.7 million Italians hold crypto-assets.”
Nine out of roughly 140 is a steep cut. Most of the firms that were registered under the old regime are no longer authorised to serve Italian clients, and the ones that remain are competing for a large base of existing holders. Joining that short list gives YouHodler Italy a selling point to Italian banks looking for a regulated crypto partner, which Barbantini Scanni names directly as a target.
Fintechbits analysis
Fintechbits analysis
Why the lending gap matters for YouHodler Italy
YouHodler built its brand on crypto-backed loans and yield products. YouHodler’s website promotes crypto-backed cash with a loan-to-value of up to 90%, alongside its exchange and wallet features. Crypto lending is not one of the crypto-asset services that MiCA defines, so a MiCA authorisation cannot cover it, and the CONSOB resolution described in the release does not list it.
That leaves an open question the release does not answer: how YouHodler’s lending and yield products will be offered to EU clients, and under which entity and rules. A MiCA licence for custody and exchange is valuable, and it puts YouHodler Italy among a small group of authorised firms. It covers the parts of the business that many rivals also offer, and leaves out the part YouHodler is known for.
Other crypto firms Fintechbits has covered have treated local authorisations as the price of entry rather than the end of the work, as with Kraken’s full market approval from Dubai’s VARA. For stablecoin context under MiCA, see the Fintechbits explainer on what a stablecoin is. Our view is that the YouHodler Italy licence matters most as a passport for exchange and custody across the EU, and much less as a stamp on the products YouHodler is best known for.
Frequently asked questions
What services does the YouHodler Italy MiCA authorisation cover?
CONSOB authorised five services: custody and administration of crypto-assets, exchange of crypto-assets for funds, exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets, execution of orders, and transfer services. The resolution is no. 24156 of 8 October 2026.
Can YouHodler Italy serve clients outside Italy?
YouHodler Italy says it plans to extend its services to all 27 EU member states through the procedure set out in MiCA. That procedure lets an authorised provider notify other member states rather than apply for a new licence in each one.
Does the MiCA licence cover YouHodler’s crypto loans?
No. The authorisation, Fintechbits notes, covers five services and none of them is lending, while YouHodler’s website markets crypto-backed cash at a loan-to-value of up to 90%. MiCA does not define lending as a crypto-asset service.
What to Watch Next
The next step is passporting. When YouHodler Italy notifies its first EU member states, the notifications will show which of the five services it plans to sell abroad, and whether any statement on its lending and yield products accompanies the expansion.
Why this matters
The authorisation, Fintechbits notes, covers five services and none of them is lending, even though YouHodler’s website markets crypto-backed cash at up to 90% loan-to-value. CONSOB approved YouHodler Italy under MiCA on 8 October 2026, in a market where only nine firms were authorised at the end of June 2026 against about 140 previously registered. The licence gives YouHodler Italy an EU passport for custody and exchange. The release does not say how its loan products will be offered to EU clients.
Primary sources
businesswire.com | PRESS RELEASE | https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261013833651/en/YouHodler-Italy-Authorised-by-CONSOB-as-a-Crypto-Asset-Service-Provider-Under-MiCA
eur-lex.europa.eu | REGULATOR | https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1114/oj
youhodler.com | COMPANY WEBSITE | https://www.youhodler.com
