EMT issuers

Business scope

E-money tokens, or electronic money tokens (EMTs), are crypto-assets designed to maintain a stable value by referencing the value of an official currency.

EMTs are considered electronic money, and Titles II and III of Directive (EC) 110/2009 (EMD2) apply, unless otherwise specified by Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation - MiCAR).

The activities of issuing, offering to the public and seeking admission to trading of EMTs are regulated by MiCAR and are reserved to credit institutions and electronic money institutions.

To offer EMTs to the public or to apply for admission to trading, issuers must notify the competent authorities and publish a crypto-asset white paper on their website containing information about the issuer, the token's characteristics (including rights and obligations), the underlying technology and its risks, and investors' rights.

The issuance and offer to the public of EMTs is governed not only by MiCAR but also by the regulatory technical standards (RTS) and implementing technical standards (ITS) adopted by the European Commission based on a proposal from the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) (see the Legal Framework section). The EBA also publishes Q&As on its website to clarify the provisions relating to the issuance and public offering of EMTs.

Since the rules introduced by the MiCA Regulation for the issuance and offer to the public of EMTs are harmonized, licensed entities may offer their tokens to the public or seek admission to trading throughout the European Union.

Notification process

Banca d'Italia is the competent authority for authorizing the issuance, offering to the public and trading of EMTs.

To provide these activities, intermediaries must submit the following to Banca d'Italia:

  • a notification of their intention to offer EMTs to the public or to seek admission to trading, at least 40 working days before the date of the offer to the public or the formal request for admission to trading;
  • their white paper, at least 20 working days before its publication date; Banca d'Italia may request additional information if the documentation provided is incomplete.

Supervised intermediaries interested in undertaking this type of operation must submit the notification to the units normally responsible for supervision (SB1, SB2, SIF Directorates or the competent branch), as indicated in the Operational Guidelines of 13 September 2024.

There is no specific template for notifications, which must comply with Article 48 of the MiCA Regulation. White papers must be drawn up in accordance with Article 51 of the MiCA Regulation and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2984. Notifications and white papers, along with their annexes, must be submitted to Banca d’Italia by certified email (PEC, see the Contacts section).

Before formally submitting a notification, operators may contact Banca d'Italia (see the Contacts section) and request a meeting to present their project. These meetings are optional and designed to assist operators in preparing their submissions. Discussions at this stage do not affect the deadlines of the licensing process.

Further information can be found in the FAQs section for banks and EMIs.

The following procedural instructions apply to notification procedures:

Contacts

To submit notifications (by certified PEC email only) or to request informal discussions or clarifications, please contact Banca d'Italia through the units normally responsible for supervision (SB1, SB2, SIF Directorates or the competent branch): contact details are provided in the Operational Guidelines of 13 September 2024.

Please note that questions relating to matters already covered on Banca d’Italia’s website will not be answered.

Sezione di approfondimento