Written by Issam Hallak (1st edition).
The European Parliament will shortly vote on adopting the regulation on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA). The regulation would establish harmonised rules for crypto-assets at EU level, thereby providing legal certainty for crypto-assets not covered by existing EU legislation. By enhancing the protection of consumers and investors as well as financial stability, the regulation promotes innovation and use of crypto-assets.
The regulation identifies and covers three types of crypto-assets, namely asset-referenced tokens (ART), electronic money tokens (EMT), and other crypto-assets not covered by existing EU law. The legislation would regulate issuance and trading of crypto-assets as well as the management of the underlying assets, where applicable, with additional regulatory rules aimed at ‘significant’ ART and EMT. The provisional agreement resulting from the negotiations aims at securing liquidity and redemption, and envisages the inclusion of the environmental impact of crypto-assets in communications to investors.
November 2022: Markets in crypto-assets (MiCA) (1st edition)