Clear Summit 2026: MiCAR accelerates the maturity of Italy's digital asset market

Clear Summit 2026 confirms the structural growth in demand for crypto and digital assets in Italy and the beginning of a full industrialization phase for the market, driven by MiCAR. Financial intermediaries are now required to rapidly reposition their operating models and infrastructures to compete in an increasingly developed market.

Milan, May 14, 2026 - The Italian digital asset and crypto market is entering a new phase of maturity. This was one of the key takeaways from Clear Summit 2026, the event organized by CheckSig to foster dialogue between traditional finance and digital assets.

Now in its third edition, the Summit brought together more than 250 professionals from leading players in the Italian financial market - including banks, asset managers, brokerage firms, private banking and wealth management institutions - alongside academics and key crypto industry operators, to discuss market evolution following the implementation of the European MiCA regulation.

The event took place just days after CheckSig received the first MiCAR license issued in Italy, making it currently the first and only Italian operator authorized by the national regulator under the new framework.

Demand for digital asset services remains strong

According to preview data from CheckSig’s 2026 Crypto Banking Survey, demand for digital asset and crypto services continues to be significant in Italy.

Twenty-two percent of Italian banking clients already invest in crypto-assets - often through non-institutional operators - while an additional 21% intend to do so in the future. Latent demand is even broader: 62% state they would use these instruments through their own bank if such services were available.

These figures confirm a structural evolution of the market: demand already exists, and clients expect regulated, reliable and compliant solutions from traditional financial intermediaries. The risk of falling behind is therefore concrete: without a structured domestic offering, a significant share of demand may increasingly be captured by international operators.

MiCAR accelerates the transformation of the European market

The European MiCA regulation is significantly accelerating the development of the European digital asset market, supporting the emergence of an ecosystem that is becoming increasingly structured and integrated with the traditional financial system.

Today, the European market includes 195 authorized operators across 23 countries. The banking sector represents the second-largest segment by number of participants, with 39 operators overall, confirming the growing interest of financial institutions in digital asset services.

The Italian market is also entering this new phase. Alongside the issuance of CheckSig’s MiCAR license, several authorized European operators have begun operating in Italy through the passporting mechanism provided by the regulation. Italy is currently the European country with the highest number of operators active through European passporting, with 103 entities operating in the market.

Michele Mandelli, Managing Partner at CheckSig, commented: “This scenario reveals two complementary dynamics: the strong attractiveness of the Italian market - one of the European countries with the highest levels of private wealth and already home to millions of crypto investors - and the urgency of building a domestic industrial presence capable of competing in a fully operational European market.”

Compliance, AML and secure technology as growth drivers

Discussions at Clear Summit 2026 highlighted a now well-defined picture: demand for digital asset services is structural, the European regulatory framework is clear, and an ecosystem of infrastructure providers is beginning to consolidate. The key question is no longer whether digital assets and crypto will become a permanent part of traditional finance, but rather how banks, asset managers, brokerage firms and wealth managers will position themselves within this transformation.

In this context, MiCAR introduces a profound shift across the entire market value chain: from operations to compliance, risk management and security. As a result, the market is progressively entering a more mature phase, in which the ability to implement regulatory, technological and operational standards becomes the main competitive differentiator and a necessary condition to participate in the development of the new European digital asset ecosystem.

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