Italy’s Comproeuro Bitcoin Shop Plans Nov. 27 Closure After MiCA Setback

Comproeuro, a Bitcoin (BTC) shop in Rovereto, northern Italy, plans to close Nov. 27 after its effort to secure authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) failed.

The store opened in December 2017 as a counter where customers could exchange euros for Bitcoin. Its name drew on Italian gold-buying shops, which typically swapped used goods for cash. Comproeuro ended BTC purchases and sales in December 2025, then continued with consultations and educational services; those offerings are also scheduled to end at closure.

Marco Amadori, co-founder of local Bitcoin ATM company inbitcoin, said the shop had never held customers’ euros or Bitcoin. He said the licensing process included a €20,000 charge and other expenses associated with custody services that Comproeuro did not provide. Amadori described the burden as too large for a neighborhood storefront and said it was not closing because of a regulatory violation.

Amadori also said the process effectively required the shop to arrange custody for assets it had never held. He argued that the rules were designed around larger operators with customer assets but imposed similar costs on a small retail business. He said compliance expenses could consume the store’s expected profit before it served its first customer, and that his letter to Italy’s Parliament had produced no result.

He also argued that applying the same compliance burden regardless of whether a provider held customer assets would not make customers safer and would eliminate a service model he considered protective.

Ten crypto firms headquartered in Italy had MiCA authorization as of Nov. 3. Eight could provide custody services, while the other two had permission for exchange services only. That split shows MiCA authorization is available without custody, while Amadori identified licensing costs as the obstacle for Comproeuro.

MiCA’s rules for asset-referenced and e-money tokens took effect June 30, 2024, followed by its general provisions on Dec. 30, 2024. The regulation establishes a common authorization framework for crypto-asset service providers across the European Union. Its transition window ended July 1, 2026, after which providers without authorization generally had to stop serving EU customers. A Binance France account closure after a MiCA setback is scheduled for Dec. 31; Comproeuro’s remaining services are due to end Nov. 27.