Paris, 4 July 2024
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has published the second Final Report under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) covering eight draft technical standards that aim to provide more transparency for retail investors, clarity for providers on the technical aspects of disclosure and record-keeping requirements, and data standards to facilitate supervision by National Competent Authorities (NCAs).
The final report published today includes the following draft technical standards:
- sustainability indicators for crypto-asset consensus mechanisms;
- business continuity measures for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs);
- trade transparency;
- content and format of orderbooks and record-keeping by CASPs;
- machine readability of white papers and the register of white papers; and
- public disclosure of inside information.
The draft standards provide market participants with technical requirements to ensure human and machine readability of crypto-asset white papers, as well as templates and formats for CASP order and transaction records. The rules also detail how CASP trading platforms should publish the data required for pre-and post-trade transparency. Once in place, this will ensure that NCAs have access to the information needed for effective supervision of the EU crypto-asset market.
Finally, the report covers public disclosures, helping investors to understand the impact on the climate and the environment of the consensus mechanisms underpinning the crypto-assets they hold, as well as descriptions on how issuers should disclose price-sensitive information to the public to prevent market abuses, such as insider dealing.
Next Steps
Once finalised, the draft technical standards will be submitted to the European Commission for adoption. The European Commission shall decide whether to adopt them within 3 months.
Source – New MiCA rules increase transparency for retail investors