We set out the key updates below:

The first Electronic Money Institution licences were issued in the EU to stablecoin (electronic money) issuers by competent authorities within the EU.

On 5 July 2024, the European Banking Authority (EBA) issued a statement clarifying the application of MiCA to Asset-Referenced Tokens (ARTs) and Electronic Money Tokens (EMTs). This statement provides guidance to stakeholders on how MiCA will be applied to these specific types of tokens, emphasising the regulatory framework and compliance expectations.

Furthering their commitment to effective supervision, the EBA also issued a statement of priorities for the supervision of issuers of ARTs and EMTs.

The areas that EBA has classified as of supervisory priority are:

1. Internal governance and risk management
2. Financial resilience
3. Technology risk management
4. Financial crime risk management

These priorities focus on ensuring consumer protection, market integrity, and regulatory compliance within the rapidly evolving landscape of crypto-assets.

Read more here and here.

On 12 July 2024, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), which is comprised of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EBA and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), have launched a consultation as to the guidelines on establishing templates for explanations and legal opinions regarding the classification of crypto-assets along with a standardised test to foster a common approach to classification.

The guidelines will be of great importance in the following cases where the offeror / issuer of a crypto-asset is required to produce a legal opinion to the competent authorities of their Member State:

1. ARTs – the submission of a whitepaper for the issuance of ARTs must be accompanied by a legal opinion which supports that the crypto-asset in question is not an EMT or a crypto-asset that should be excluded from the scope of MiCA;
2. Crypto-assets other than ARTs and EMTs - the submission of a whitepaper for the offering of such a crypto-asset must be accompanied by a legal opinion which supports that the crypto-asset in question is not an EMT or an ART or a crypto-asset that should be excluded from the scope of MiCA.

Stakeholders are invited to provide feedback to the consultation by 12 October 2024.

Read more here.

On 4 July 2024, ESMA introduced a final report under MiCA covering the following draft technical standards:

1. sustainability indicators for crypto-asset consensus mechanisms;
2. business continuity measures for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs);
3. trade transparency;
4. content and format of orderbooks and record-keeping by CASPs;
5. machine readability of white papers and the register of white papers; and
6. public disclosure of inside information.

Read more here.

The final report under MiCA can be accessed here.

On 26 July 2024, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) closed their mandatory surveys for certain types of regulated entities with existing EU authorisations which are planning to provide equivalent crypto-asset services under Article 60 of MiCA.

On 31 July 2024, CySEC issued a follow-up circular, C654, requiring additional notification of regulated entities’ intention to provide crypto-asset services under Article 60 of MiCA, as applicable. You can read our related blog post here.

If you are unsure whether MiCA Regulation may apply to you, you can use our MiCA Assessment Tool to obtain a free preliminary assessment here.