The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has recently issued a Statement on the provision of crypto-asset services in relation to asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and electronic money tokens (EMTs) that are not compliant with Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCAR).
The Statement is addressed to crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) licensed under Article 59 of MiCAR, as well as virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating under the relevant national regulations.
More specifically, ESMA has pointed out the following:
- CASPs operating a crypto-asset trading platform may no longer make crypto-assets that qualify as ARTs or EMTs available for trading if their issuers are not licensed in accordance with Titles III and IV of MiCAR. In the event of doubt regarding the classification of the above-mentioned crypto-assets, CASPs should contact the national competent authority for further information;
- CASPs providing services that amount to an offer to the public or to an application for admission to trading (i.e. receiving and transmitting orders, order execution on behalf of clients, exchange of crypto-assets for funds or other crypto-assets) cannot provide these services when they allow for the purchase of ARTs and EMTs that are not compliant with MiCAR;
- the above requirements must be met by the end of January 2025.
In relation to their clients' positions in non-compliant crypto-assets, CASPs may only continue to offer the above-mentioned services for the purpose of their liquidation until the end of the first quarter of 2025.
ESMA has urged CASPs to launch effective communication campaigns to raise investor awareness of the impact of the enforcement of MiCAR on ARTs and EMTs that are not authorized in the European Union. ESMA also expects CASPs to implement procedures to expedite the liquidation of the above-mentioned ARTs and EMTs or their conversion into MiCAR-compliant crypto-assets.
For further information and details, please refer to the full document published by ESMA at: https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/esma-and-european-commission-publish-guidance-non-mica-compliant-arts-and-emts.
