The Chiliz Group has taken a significant step toward embedding regulated crypto services into Europe’s sports economy after Socios Europe Services Limited (SES), a Chiliz subsidiary, received pre-authorization under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). The move paves the way for SES to become a fully authorized Crypto-Asset Service Provider and to “passport” regulated services across the European Economic Area.
Chiliz says the pre-authorization is a landmark for the SportFi space, the intersection of sports and blockchain, because it establishes a regulated gateway for fans to buy, hold and trade official Fan Tokens through the Socios platform. Once fully authorized, SES will be able to offer custody and administration of crypto-assets for clients, exchange services between crypto and fiat, placement of crypto-assets, and crypto transfer services on behalf of customers, activities that fall squarely within MiCA’s scope. Chiliz has stressed that consumer-facing engagement features such as fan polls, loyalty programmes and third-party dApp access will remain outside the MiCA framework.
As part of the regulatory transition, Chiliz has announced it will migrate Socios.com’s crypto-asset operations to Socios Europe Services Limited on 1 October 2025. The company says the migration will be accompanied by a new Legal Hub on Socios.com containing updated platform terms, wallet terms and a refreshed complaints-handling procedure to support users under the MiCA regime. The group frames the change as raising the standard of consumer protection for more than 400 million fans across Europe.
CHZ White Paper Registration Push
In parallel, Chiliz has published a MiCA-compliant white paper for its native CHZ token, aligning the token documentation with Title II requirements of the MiCA Regulation and aiming to increase transparency for European users and trading partners. The white paper, available from Chiliz’s site, is intended to complement a registration process that the company says will see individual Fan Token white papers filed with ESMA via MFSA notification.
Chiliz pointed to a history of working with regulators across Europe, including prior authorizations and registrations in jurisdictions such as Spain, Italy and Lithuania, as evidence of the Group’s “proactive” compliance posture. The company previously secured regulatory approvals and in-principle sign-offs tied to its Socios platform, and it positions the latest MiCA step as building on that track record.
“Securing full MiCA authorization positions us at the forefront of regulated Web3 innovation in sports and entertainment,” said Alex Dreyfus, CEO and Founder of Chiliz. “This milestone validates our long-term vision of building compliant, sustainable blockchain infrastructure that empowers fans and organizations within Europe and beyond. Together with our MiCA-compliant CHZ whitepaper, it delivers greater transparency and confidence to all ecosystem participants.”
The Timing is Significant
The MiCA rulebook, which brings a unified regulatory framework to crypto services across the EU, is prompting established Web3 projects to rework legal, custody and consumer-protection arrangements. Chiliz’s bid to move core Fan Token services under a Malta-based MiCA hub is one of the higher-profile efforts to blend mainstream sports fan engagement with regulated crypto rails.
Dreyfus added, “These regulatory milestones deliver the foundations for the next phase of SportFi growth, as further transparency and regulations help to create an ecosystem that can tokenize real-world assets (RWA) from the sports sector, and democratize access to those assets on-chain. It’s a pivotal moment for our community and partners as we continue to grow our ecosystem.”
For users and partners, the near-term change means Socios customers in the EEA should watch for the new Legal Hub and the updated terms that will accompany the October migration. Chiliz says it will continue to publish details as the registration of Fan Token white papers and the final authorization process progress through the MFSA and ESMA notification channels.
