On 16 December 2024, several documents relating to Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCAR) were published.

RTS specifying the procedure and timeframe for an issuer of ARTs or of EMTs to adjust the amount of its own funds

The European Commission (Commission) adopted a Delegated Regulation (EU) supplementing MiCAR with regard to regulatory technical standards (RTS) specifying the procedure and timeframe for an issuer of asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) or of e-money tokens (EMTs) to adjust the amount of its own funds. The draft RTS:

  • Specify the procedure to be followed by the Member State competent authority (NCA) and the issuer of ARTs or EMTs that have been classified as significant pursuant to Article 43(6), 44(3), 56(5) or 57(3) of MiCAR, and the issuer of non-significant ARTs or EMTs that is requested by the NCA to comply with Article 45(5) of MiCAR pursuant to Article 35(4) or 58(2) of that Regulation.
  • Establish the process for the NCA to notify the relevant issuer of the timeframe to increase its own funds and for the relevant issuer to submit to the NCA a detailed plan on how the own funds will be adjusted to meet the requirement in Article 45(5) of MiCAR.
  • Provide provisions for the NCA and relevant issuer to monitor the implementation of the plan to ensure a timely completion.
  • Set the maximum timeframe that the NCA may provide to the relevant issuer to implement the plan to increase its own funds, having regard to the potential impact on the issuer, its specificities, and risks to the financial stability of the wider financial system.

The next step is for the Delegated Regulation to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ). It will come into force 20 days after publication.

RTS specifying the content, methodologies and presentation of information in respect of sustainability indicators in relation to adverse impacts on the climate and other environment‐related adverse impacts

The Commission has also adopted a Delegated Regulation (EU) supplementing MiCAR with regard to RTS specifying the content, methodologies and presentation of information in respect of sustainability indicators in relation to adverse impacts on the climate and other environment‐related adverse impacts.

Articles 19(1), 51(1) and 6(1) of MiCAR set out requirements to disclose the principal adverse impacts on the climate and other environment-related adverse impacts of the consensus mechanisms used to issue a crypto-asset in the white papers for ARTs, for EMTs and for crypto-assets other than ARTs and EMTs. Article 66(5) of MiCAR obliges crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to publish on their website information concerning the principal adverse impacts on the climate and other environment-related adverse impacts of the consensus mechanism used to issue each crypto-asset in relation to which they provide services.

The draft RTS further specify the content, methodologies and presentation of the information regarding the sustainability indicators relating to adverse impacts on the climate and other environment-related adverse impacts.

The next step is for the Delegated Regulation to be published in the OJ. It will come into force 20 days after publication.

Latest ESMA documents

The European Securities and Markets Authority has published the last package of final reports containing draft RTS and guidelines ahead of the application of the MiCAR.

The package comprises:

  • Final report on the guidelines on the conditions and criteria for the qualification of crypto-assets as financial instruments. The guidelines aim to provide more clarity about the delineation between the respective scopes of application of MiCAR and other sectoral regulatory frameworks (notably MiFID II).
  • Final report on the draft technical standards specifying certain requirements in relation to the detection and prevention of market abuse under the MiCAR. These draft RTS specify systems and procedures to prevent and detect market abuse in crypto-assets, the template for reporting suspected market abuse in crypto-assets as well as coordination procedures between NCAs for the detection and sanctioning of cross-border market abuse situations.
  • Final report on the guidelines specifying EU standards on the maintenance of systems and security access protocols for offerors and persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than ARTs and EMTs. These guidelines apply to offerors and persons seeking admission to trading who are not subject to the same operational resilience standards under MiCAR and the Digital Operational Resilience Act as their CASP and issuer counterparts. The guidelines provide for a streamlined set of principles for entities in scope to manage their ICT risks.
  • Final report on the guidelines specifying certain requirements of the MiCAR on investor protection – third package. This report covers the guidelines on suitability and the guidelines on crypto-asset transfer services.
  • Final report on the guidelines on reverse solicitation under the MiCAR. The guidelines confirm ESMA’s previous message that the reverse solicitation exemption should be understood as very narrowly framed and should be regarded as the exception and not be used to circumvent MiCAR requirements. This exemption only applies to cases where the client is the exclusive initiator of the service. Guidance is provided on the limited circumstances where this may be the case.

The guidelines will be translated into the official EU languages and published on ESMA’s website. They will apply from three months after the publication of the translations.

The final reports with the draft RTS have been submitted to the Commission for adoption.