The Italian Securities Commission (Consob), the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) and the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) published a joint position paper calling for a stronger EU supervisory framework for crypto-asset markets, drawing on experience from the first months of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The authorities point to uneven national supervisory approaches and remaining gaps in areas such as cyber risk and EU access to non-EU platforms as potential weaknesses for investor protection and EU market competitiveness. MiCA has applied since 30 December 2024 and requires providers of crypto-asset services in the European Union to obtain prior authorisation. Despite coordination by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Consob, AMF and FMA report significant differences in national supervision that could lead host authorities to use MiCA precautionary measures where firms authorised elsewhere operate cross-border. The paper sets out four non-exhaustive targeted improvements: direct ESMA supervision of major crypto-asset service providers to ensure more uniform application of rules and reduce incentives for authorisation shopping; stronger requirements for intermediaries executing crypto-asset orders by limiting execution to platforms compliant with MiCA or equivalent regimes when targeting EU investors from outside the EU; enhanced cyber-risk oversight through independent IT security assessments before MiCA authorisation and on periodic renewals, covering asset protection, resilience and incident handling; and clarification of the white paper review process with a possible single access point for submitting and managing token offers excluding stablecoins. The proposals are framed as further alignment with recommendations issued in 2023 by the Financial Stability Board and the International Organization of Securities Commissions.

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