EU Securities Agency Unveils Crypto Rules Under MiCA

The European watchdogs issued a new set of crypto guidelines on Wednesday, July 12, 2023

The European Banking Authority (EBA) issued a new set of crypto guidelines on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, to take effect next year. They redoubled their efforts to create a compliant blockchain industry within the confederation of 27 member states before its landmark MiCA rules come into force next year. It comes after the European Union, in April this year, approved the "Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation" (MiCAR) for trading in Bitcoin, Ether, stablecoins, etc. 

Wednesday's new guidelines include provisions for permanent redemption rights and handling of complaints as EBA expects more issuance of stablecoins. Meanwhile, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has cracked down on unauthorised crypto ATMs, where users sell Bitcoin and Ethereum for cash.  

The MiCA regulations — agreed upon in 2022 but not taking effect until 2024 — as well as the EU's Web4 ambitions, asking stablecoin issuers to adhere to practices of full transparency regarding their disclosure, business model, risk management, communications with authorities, and reserve, recovery, and redemption arrangements. The aim is to establish a regulatory framework comparable to MiCA for these innovative ventures, driven by recommendations from the Virtual Worlds citizen panel in April this year.

A related press release encourages relevant financial institutions to take "timely preparatory steps" to become compliant with the bloc's MiCA legislation before their application date of 30 June 2024. 

The European Parliament recently approved the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, the world's first comprehensive set of rules that aims to bring largely unregulated cryptocurrency markets under government regulation. The regulation will come into force after formal approval by member states.