The EU brings crypto-assets, crypto-assets issuers and crypto-asset service providers under a regulatory framework. Setting an EU level legal framework for this sector for the first time, the Council adopted a regulation on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA).

MiCA will protect investors by increasing transparency and putting in place a comprehensive framework for issuers and service providers including compliance with the anti-money laundering rules. The new rules cover issuers of utility tokens, asset referenced tokens and so-called ‘stablecoins’. It also covers service providers such as trading venues and the wallets where crypto-assets are held. This regulatory framework aims to protect investors, preserve financial stability, while allowing innovation and fostering the attractiveness of the crypto-asset sector.

It also introduces a harmonized regulatory framework in the European Union which, given the global nature of crypto markets, is an improvement compared to the current situation with national legislation in some member states only.

Αs stated in the preamble of the proposed Regulation, the absence of an overall Union framework for markets in crypto-assets can lead to a lack of user confidence in those assets, which could significantly hinder the development of a market in those assets and lead to missed opportunities in terms of innovative digital services, alternative payment instruments or new funding sources for Union companies. In addition, companies using crypto-assets would have no legal certainty on how their crypto-assets would be treated in the various Member States, which would undermine their efforts to use crypto-assets for digital innovation.

A dedicated and harmonised framework for markets in crypto-assets is therefore necessary at Union level in order to provide specific rules for crypto-assets and related services and activities that are not yet covered by Union legislative acts on financial services. Such a framework should support innovation and fair competition, while ensuring a high level of protection of retail holders and the integrity of markets in crypto-assets. A clear framework should enable crypto-asset service providers to scale up their businesses on a cross-border basis and facilitate their access to banking services to enable them to run their activities smoothly.

As mentioned in the preamble, this Regulation expressly excludes from its scope crypto-assets that qualify as financial instruments as defined in Directive 2014/65/EU, those that qualify as deposits as defined in Directive 2014/49/EU, including structured deposits as defined in Directive 2014/65/EU, those that qualify as funds as defined in Directive (EU) 2015/2366, except if they qualify as electronic money tokens (‘e-money tokens’), those that qualify as securitisation positions as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/2402, and those that qualify as non-life or life insurance contracts, pensions products or schemes and social security schemes. Having regard to the fact that electronic money and funds received in exchange for electronic money should not be treated as deposits in accordance with Directive 2009/110/EC, e-money tokens cannot be treated as deposits that are excluded from the scope of this Regulation.

The new Regulation classifies crypto-assets into three types, which should be distinguished from one another and subject to different requirements depending on the risks they entail. The classification is based on whether the crypto-assets seek to stabilise their value by reference to other assets:

• The first type consists of crypto-assets that aim to stabilise their value by referencing only one official currency. The function of such crypto-assets is very similar to the function of electronic money as defined in Directive 2009/110/EC. Like electronic money, such crypto-assets are electronic surrogates for coins and banknotes and are likely to be used for making payments. Those crypto-assets should be defined in this Regulation as ‘e-money tokens’.
• The second type of crypto-assets concerns ‘asset-referenced tokens’, which aim to stabilise their value by referencing another value or right, or combination thereof, including one or several official currencies. That second type covers all other crypto-assets, other than e-money tokens, whose value is backed by assets, so as to avoid circumvention and to make this Regulation future-proof.
• Finally, the third type consists of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, and covers a wide variety of crypto-assets, including utility tokens.

(source: consilium.europa.eu / photo: freepik.com)