The European Banking Authority published an Opinion responding to the European Commission’s proposed amendments to the EBA’s draft Regulatory Technical Standards on the information issuers must provide to competent authorities when seeking authorisation to offer asset-referenced tokens to the public or admit them to trading under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). The EBA accepted the Commission’s proposed changes, including those it considers substantive, but asked the Commission to consider amending MiCAR’s Level 1 text to preserve certain requirements that the EBA views as important for supervision. The elements the EBA highlighted for potential inclusion in the Level 1 text were a requirement for a market abuse policy, an independent third-party audit of an issuer’s proprietary distributed ledger technology where it is operated by the issuer or by a third-party operator, and a comprehensive concept of good repute aligned with the rest of the financial sector. The Opinion follows the EBA’s submission of its final draft RTS to the Commission on 6 May 2024 and the Commission’s 13 January 2025 notification of its intention to endorse the RTS with amendments. The EBA’s next step is limited to its invitation for the Commission to consider a Level 1 amendment “at the next available opportunity” to incorporate the supervisory elements removed from the RTS.
European Banking Authority 2025-02-27
European Banking Authority accepts European Commission amendments to MiCAR technical standards for asset-referenced token authorisations while urging Level 1 changes
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published an Opinion on the European Commission's proposed amendments to the EBA's draft Regulatory Technical Standards under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). While accepting the changes, the EBA urged the Commission to amend MiCAR’s Level 1 text to include requirements for a market abuse policy, independent third-party audits of distributed ledger technology, and a comprehensive concept of good repute. The EBA's next step is to invite the Commission to consider these amendments at the next available opportunity.