Cyprus Fintech Spotlight: Revolut & Teroxx Gain MiCA Licences Amid €300m Scam Fallout

Cyprus Focus

Shell companies in Cyprus tied to €300 m global credit-card scam
A major fraud ring has been exposed whereby Cyprus-based shell companies were used to power a global €300 million credit-card scam. The modus operandi: small recurring payments under €50 to avoid detection, orchestrated via “crime-as-a-service” sellers of shell firms. This underscores heightened AML/CTF risk and regulatory scrutiny in the Cyprus financial services / fintech sector.
Revolut chooses Cyprus as base for European crypto operations (MiCA licence)
Revolut has secured a licence under the Markets in Crypto‑Assets (MiCA) regime via the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), making Cyprus the EU/EEA hub for its digital-asset operations. This is a strategic win for the Cyprus fintech ecosystem — reinforcing the island’s appeal as a gateway for regulated crypto operations.
Teroxx secures MiCA CASP licence + new Cyprus HQ contract
Teroxx, a digital-asset boutique active in Cyprus, Germany and other markets, has two key recent updates:

The company’s Cyprus entity (Teroxx Digital Asset Ltd) is authorised and regulated by CySEC as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) under MiCA (Licence No 3/25). teroxx.com
It also signed a contract with the construction group Cyfield Group to build a new headquarters in Cyprus, slated for completion and occupation by February 2026. CBN

Implications for Cyprus:

The MiCA licence signals a further shift of crypto-business into regulated EU jurisdictions — Cyprus is benefitting.
The HQ build-out reflects commitment/investment and may drive local talent hiring (ops, compliance, technology).
From a recruitment perspective: demand likely rising for roles in crypto-assets compliance/ops/engineering in Cyprus.
But it also reinforces the earlier point: as more crypto/activity heads here, regulatory/talent/tax risks increase.

Cyprus remains a strong fintech/innovation hub — but risks rising
A recent analysis of the Cyprus fintech environment flags ongoing strengths (EU market access, regulatory regime, favourable tax/structural environment) but also rising risks: compliance burdens increasing, talent supply tightening, reputational/regulatory headwinds growing.

New EU “Financial Data Access” (FiDA) regime giving fintechs an edge
The EU is moving forward with the Financial Data Access (FiDA) Regulation (an “open finance” extension) that could narrow Big Tech’s dominance and give European fintechs a competitive advantage. Fintechs that harness open data flows (banking, insurance, investment) may gain in product innovation. Data governance, privacy and security will become more important hiring areas.
2025 regulatory wave in EU fintech space: PSD3, PSR, Instant Payments
This year brings major regulatory changes in the EU: Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD3), Payment Services Regulation (PSR), the Instant Payments Regulation, e-Invoicing mandates, etc. For payments, fintechs, forex/CFDs etc., this means compliance functions are being elevated; fraud prevention, data-sharing, transparency are being enforced more strongly.

Compliance & AML talent: With the fraud exposure in Cyprus and increased regulatory scrutiny across the EU, demand for experienced AML/CTF/compliance professionals is likely to accelerate. Emerald Zebra highlights its expertise in crypto-assets AML, CASP regime, MiCA compliance recruitment.
Fintech / crypto ops / digital assets roles: The Teroxx example and Revolut licence show growing crypto operations in Cyprus. Roles around product, operations, token-economics, crypto risk & oversight are likely growing.
Payments & open-finance engineering: With FiDA and PSD3/PSR changes, fintechs/payments firms will need engineers, data-architects and legal-ops people who understand cross-border settlement, API ecosystems, instant payments.
iGaming/Forex/CFDs caution: While no major iGaming/CFD-specific headline this week surfaced in Cyprus from the sources I checked, the regulatory environment (in Cyprus especially) signals increasing scrutiny. Emerald Zebra reminds clients in forex/CFD sectors of the changing risk/regulation climate and their services to help source the right professionals..
Geographic strategy: For companies considering Cyprus as a base, this week’s news underlines both the opportunity (EU access, crypto licence attractiveness) and the risk (fraud/reg reputation, talent supply).