On 20 August 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Banking Authority (together the European Supervisory Authorities) published a letter in response to an earlier letter from Valdis Dombrovskis (Vice-President European Commission, Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union) concerning crypto-assets, including so-called ‘stablecoins’.

The letter outlines some of the European Supervisory Authorities’ work streams on crypto-assets including:

• engagement with international regulatory authorities on matters such as the prudential treatment of banks’ exposures to crypto-assets and the regulatory treatment of crypto-asset exchanges and trading platforms;
• the European Supervisory Authorities will launch shortly a new stocktaking exercise of Member State national regimes applicable to crypto-assets. This stocktaking exercise will include a specific block of questions relating to the regulatory treatment of stablecoins in light of their increasing prominence and is being prepared in coordination with Commission staff; and
• the topic of stablecoins will be discussed at the upcoming European Forum for Innovation Facilitators event in September along with a range of other financial technologies subject to consideration/testing in innovation facilitators.