The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the regulatory body for financial markets in the European Union, has released a consultative paper on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) mandates.
This paper, which is the first of three consultative packages, focuses on the technical specifications for crypto asset service providers (CASPs).
Under MiCA, entities that are already licensed are presumed to be capable of providing crypto-asset services.
However, they will be required to provide additional information to the national competent authorities (NCAs) of their respective countries through notifications.
The consultative paper seeks feedback on regulatory and technical standards for these notifications from CASPs.
ESMA is also seeking feedback on regulatory and technical standards related to CASP authorization applications, handling complaints, managing and preventing conflicts of interest, and disclosures to NCAs by entities planning to acquire shares in a CASP.
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Interested stakeholders and market participants have until September 20 to respond to the consultative paper.
ESMA plans to submit a draft of the finalized standards to the European Commission by June 30, 2024, as mandated by MiCA.
The second consultative package will be released in October, followed by the third in the first quarter of 2024, aligning with the deadlines set for ESMA in MiCA.
In addition to specific feedback, ESMA has posed four general questions to respondents.
These questions aim to gather more insight into the current and planned activities of market participants and their expectations for the future development of the EU crypto-asset markets.
The questions cover topics such as expected turnover, the number of white papers respondents plan to publish, and their utilization of on-chain and off-chain trading.
MiCA, approved by the European Parliament on April 20, will be implemented in three stages between 2024 and 2025.
It represents a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto assets within the European Union. The consultation process conducted by ESMA is an important step in shaping the technical standards and guidelines that will govern the operation of CASPs under MiCA.
