ESMA Proposes Eight Draft Standards for MiCA in Second Final Report

July 4, 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has released its second Final Report under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), introducing a comprehensive set of eight draft technical standards.

According to what Fazzaco learned from ESMA's website, these standards are designed to provide enhanced transparency for retail investors, clarify technical requirements for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), and establish robust data standards to facilitate effective supervision by National Competent Authorities (NCAs) across the EU.

Among the key provisions outlined in the draft standards are sustainability indicators for crypto-asset consensus mechanisms, ensuring that investors have access to information on the environmental impact of blockchain technologies underlying crypto-assets. The standards also mandate business continuity measures for CASPs, aiming to mitigate operational risks and ensure service continuity in the event of disruptions.

Additionally, ESMA's draft includes detailed requirements for the transparency of trade reporting, specifying the content and format of orderbooks and transaction records maintained by CASPs. The standards also address the machine readability of crypto-asset white papers, establishing templates and formats to enhance accessibility and understanding for both human readers and automated systems.

Furthermore, the draft standards mandate public disclosure obligations for CASPs, requiring them to publish inside information that could impact market prices or pose risks to investors. This measure aims to prevent market abuses such as insider trading and enhance market transparency.

​Once finalized and adopted by the European Commission, these standards will constitute a critical framework for regulating the EU's crypto-asset market.

This Tuesday, Fazzaco covered that Circle, a global financial technology firm and issuer of USDC and EURC stablecoins, has become the first that achieved compliance with MiCA​.