On 19 March 2025, there was published on the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) website the official translations of the guidelines on the conditions and criteria for the qualification of crypto-assets as financial instruments. The guidelines specify the conditions and criteria for determining whether a crypto-asset should qualify as a financial instrument and therefore ensuring the common, uniform and consistent application of Article 2(4)(a) of the Regulation on markets in crypto-assets. The guidelines also provide clarifications on certain features of utility tokens, non-fungible tokens and hybrid tokens.

The guidelines apply 60 calendar days from the date of their publication on ESMA’s website in all official EU languages (18 May 2025).

Within two months of the date of publication of the guidelines on ESMA’s website in all EU official languages, Member State competent authorities to which the guidelines apply must notify ESMA whether they (i) comply, (ii) do not comply, but intend to comply, or (iii) do not comply and do not intend to comply with the guidelines.