Over the past year and a half, ESMA has conducted vast regulatory work, including over 30 Technical Standards and Guidelines, many of them developed in collaboration with the European Banking Authority (EBA). Now, the regulator published the last policy package before the full entry into the implementation of the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA). Representatives from ESMA commented on the announcement, mentioning that the entry into force of the MiCA regulation from 30 December 2024 is set to support the advancement of instituting a regulatory framework for the crypto market. Additionally, ESMA mentioned that looking forward, as the transitional period continues, the agency plans to offer guidance and work with all NCAs to facilitate the implementation of MiCA and to deliver an equal playing field via supervisory convergence actions.
Regulatory technical standards on market abuse that outline systems and processes to prevent and detect market abuse in crypto-assets, the template for reporting any suspicious activities, and coordination procedures between competent authorities for the uncovering and sanctioning of cross-border market abuse situations;
Standards for reverse solicitation that underline ESMA’s previous statement that the reverse solicitation exemption should be understood as intently framed and should be considered the exemption not to be leveraged to circumvent MiCA demands. This exclusion only applies to cases where the client is the exclusive initiator of the service;
Policies on suitability that underline how crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) offering advice on crypto-assets or portfolio management of crypto-assets have to deliver proper recommendations to their clients or decide on their behalf. The regulations fall in line with the MiFID II requirements, subjecting CASPs offering advice both under MiFID II and MiCA to similar requirements;
Guidelines on crypto-asset transfer solutions, intending to facilitate investor safeguarding for clients transferring crypto-assets by outlining the policies and procedures that CASPs should implement;
Standards for qualification of crypto-assets as financial instruments, with the guidelines intending to clarify the delineation between the respective scopes of application of MiCA and other sectoral regulatory frameworks;
Policies on the maintenance of systems and security access protocols that apply to offerors and persons needing admission to trade who are not subject to similar operational resilience standards under MiCA and DORA as their CASP and issuer counterparts.
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