The European Union regulator is once again asking stakeholders for input on MiCA.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the key regulator for financial markets within the European Union, has unveiled a second consultative paper concerning the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.
The announcement came on October 5th and follows a previous consultation published in July.
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In a substantial document of 307 pages, ESMA requests input from stakeholders on five main areas under the MiCA regulations. These areas include sustainability metrics for a distributed ledger, guidelines for insider information disclosures, technical prerequisites for white papers, transparency norms for trading, and record-keeping protocols for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs).
ESMA's paper dedicates a section to sustainability indicators, outlining the need for blockchain network nodes to quantify energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, waste production and to provide qualitative statements about their environmental impact. These indicators aim to shed light on the ecological footprint of blockchain technology.
Another crucial aspect is the post-trade transparency requirement, where the regulator advises that CASPs should make details on the date and time of transactions, asset identification, pricing information, executed quantity, venue, and a unique transaction ID available at any time.
Interestingly, ESMA is also proposing flexibility in data storage for CASPs. While CASPs should be able to keep their transaction data in any format they deem suitable, they must also be able to convert this data into a standardized format upon request from regulatory authorities.
The ESMA intends to compile a final report, drawing on the feedback from this second consultative paper and a forthcoming third one, by June 30th, 2024. These findings will form the basis for the technical standards draft that will be submitted to the European Commission.
The ESMA continues to pave the way for the full-fledged implementation of MiCA regulations, with its second consultative paper serving as a fine-tuning mechanism. This new paper invites stakeholders to weigh in on key components of the framework, with a final draft expected by mid-2024.
