On 29 January 2024, ESMA published a CP on the draft guidelines on reverse solicitation under MiCAR. The document contains Guidelines on the solicitation of clients by third-country firms and Guidelines on the supervision practices to detect and prevent circumvention of the reverse solicitation exemption. The draft guidance confirms ESMA’s previous position that the provision of crypto-asset services by a third-country firm is limited under MiCAR to cases where the client is the exclusive initiator of the service. This exemption should be understood as very narrowly framed and must be seen as the exception and a firm cannot use it to bypass MiCAR. The deadline for comments by stakeholders is 29 April 2024. All contributions should be submitted online at www.esma.europa.eu under the heading ‘Your input – Consultations’. ESMA will consider feedback to the consultation in Q2 2024 and the final ESMA report is expected to be published by the end of 2024 at the latest.
