Final MiCA Technical Standards and Guidelines Released

The European financial regulator released final guidelines to help EU member states prepare for the enforcement of the upcoming Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published the latest set of regulations, which includes technical standards and guidelines for European countries regarding the implementation of the MiCA bill.

The released package of documents covers regulation aspects such as:

• combating market abuse in crypto-assets;
• providing crypto transfer services;
• ensuring security of access protocols to trading systems;
• identifying digital assets as financial instruments and more.

The official implementation of the main parts of the MiCA bill is set for December 30, 2024.

It’s important to note that several EU member states, including Belgium, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Luxembourg, and Romania, reported difficulties in meeting the MiCA implementation deadline due to uncertainty and lack of regulatory clarity in certain areas. This was highlighted in a letter from the Electronic Money Association (EMA) to the ESMA, according to CoinDesk.

The published package from the European financial regulator aims to address regulatory challenges and assist with MiCA’s national-level implementation. The ESMA’s press release also emphasized that cooperation with national regulators during the transitional period will be a priority to ensure full implementation of MiCA’s provisions.

Two months ago, the ESMA analysts proposed several amendments to the MiCA bill ahead of its official enforcement, including expanding requirements for license applicants and tightening oversight of crypto-asset service providers (CASP).