• The European Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation was agreed upon in the European Parliament on April 20.
• ESMA is responsible for developing regulatory technical standards and guidelines for MiCA, including authorization, governance, conflicts of interest, and complaint-handling procedures.
• ESMA will need to conclude its consultations before the end of Q1 2024 before the first stage of the regulation rollout can begin.

European Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA)

The European Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation was agreed upon in the European Parliament on April 20. This groundbreaking global crypto law has a roadmap ahead with three upcoming consultations by ESMA that should be completed by December 2024.

ESMA’s Responsibilities

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) are responsible for developing regulatory technical standards and guidelines for MiCA. These include authorization, governance, conflicts of interest, and complaint-handling procedures – all of which have to be considered when deciding when a crypto-asset should be classified as a financial instrument under MiFID instead of MiCA regulations. ESMA also holds responsibility for making Bitcoin environmentally sustainable while adhering to MiCA’s regulations.

Consultation Timeline

The consultation timeline begins Friday 16 June with three separate consultations taking place over July, October, and Q1 of 2024 respectively. The content for each consultation has yet to be confirmed but it will involve multiple stakeholders involved in the process.

Rollout Timeframe

Once these consultations are successfully concluded by Q1 2024 then Title III – regarding ‘Asset-Referenced Tokens‘ – will start rolling out across Europe until completion in December 2024 whereafter MiCA would come into force across the continent.

Conclusion

Overall this development marks an important step forward for blockchain technology as well as cryptocurrency adoption globally as one of the biggest economies looks set to pave a path towards sound crypto regulations that could soon become a standard worldwide once rolled out completely within Europe.