On the 10th of July 2025, the European Securities and Markets Authority published of its peer review report analysing the approaches taken by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) in the authorisation and early supervision of Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs) under Regulation 2023/1114/EU (MiCAR). According to ESMA, whilst demonstrating a good level of expertise and supervisory cooperation, the MFSA did not fully resolve some material issues when granting the CASP authorisation, nor did it adequately address some risk areas throughout the authorisation process. Moreover, ESMA recommended to all National Competent Authorities (NCAs) in the process of authorising CASPs to pay particular attention to specific areas of risk including, among others, conflicts of interest, governance and intragroup arrangements, Web3, and the promotion of unregulated services. All NCAs should integrate the recommendations in their internal processes and their ongoing and future authorisations.
