
On 17 December 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published the last package of Final Reports with draft RTS and Guidelines ahead of the full entry into application of Regulation 2023/1114/EU (MiCAR). The package contains the following documents:
- Draft RTS outlining systems and procedures to prevent and detect market abuse in crypto-assets, the template to report suspected market abuse, and coordination procedures between Competent Authorities to detect and sanction cross-border market abuse situations;
- Guidelines on reverse solicitation, which state that the reverse solicitation exemption should apply only where the client is the exclusive initiator of the service, and should not be used to circumvent MiCA requirements;
- Guidelines clarifying how crypto-asset service providers advising on crypto-assets or portfolio management of crypto-assets have to provide their clients with suitable recommendations or make suitable investment decisions on their behalf;
- Guidelines specifying certain requirements on crypto-asset transfer services which aim to ensure investor protection for clients transferring crypto-assets;
- Guidelines clarifying the conditions and the criteria to qualify crypto-assets as financial instruments;
- Guidelines outlining Union standards on the maintenance of systems and security access protocols for offerors and persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs).
The Guidelines will be translated into the official EU languages, will be published on the ESMA website, and will apply from three months after the translations’ publication. The draft RTS have been submitted to the European Commission for adoption. The European Commission must decide whether to adopt them within three months.