Brussels

Following the roundtables in London, Berlin, and Vienna, the fourth MiCAR Roundtable was held on the 10th of July in Brussels in partnership with siedler legal, thinkBLOCKthank and Validvent, in collaboration with APCO and Crystal Intelligence, with the support of the Web3 Foundation.

The event featured an introductory note from Hedi Navaza of Crystal Intelligence, along with keynotes by Joachim Schwerin, Principal Economist at the European Commission, and Peter Kerstens, Advisor on Technological Innovation and Cybersecurity at the European Commission. This roundtable included expert contributions from Beata Sivak (Kraken) on disclosures and whitepapers, Romena Urbonaite (Bitpanda) on supervision under MiCA, and Roeland Van der Stappen (Swiss Finance Council) on reverse solicitation.

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Disclosures & Whitepapers

The discussion on disclosures and whitepapers under MiCA, focused on the challenges related to the scope, timelines, and liabilities associated with these requirements. Participants addressed concerns over the potential for multiple disclosures or whitepapers from different market players causing customer confusion, the discrepancy between timelines for environmental disclosures and whitepapers, and the liability issues linked to whitepaper preparation. The need for additional regulatory guidance and the integration of sustainability goals into crypto regulations were key points of discussion.

Supervision under MiCA: Significant Issuers and CASPs

The topic of supervision under MiCA, explored the complexities and challenges of harmonising supervision practices across EU member states. The discussion focused on the dual supervision regime for significant issuers and CASPs, the lack of harmonisation in supervisory practices, and the potential for regulatory arbitrage due to varying national interpretations. The roundtable emphasised the importance of supervisory convergence, standardised reporting requirements, and the need to refine the criteria for determining significant entities under MiCA.

Call to Action

Regulators should establish clear and detailed definitions for the scope and content of whitepapers, develop a liability framework for whitepaper preparation, standardise third-party whitepaper preparation processes, and implement a streamlined notification system to avoid duplication and ensure consistent information dissemination across the EU.

Call to Action

Regulators should work towards harmonised supervision practices across all EU member states, establish centralised supervision for systemically important entities, refine criteria for determining significant CASPs, and standardise reporting requirements to ensure consistent regulatory oversight and a level playing field.

Reverse Solicitation Requirements

The discussion on reverse solicitation requirements under MiCA highlighted the challenges posed by ESMA's broad interpretation of solicitation, which could restrict brand marketing by third-country financial institutions. Participants discussed the need for a clear nexus between marketing and specific crypto asset services to maintain fair competition and ensure that reverse solicitation regulations do not unfairly disadvantage well-regulated third-country firms.

Call to Action

Regulators should establish a clear connection between brand marketing and specific crypto asset services or products, and adapt reverse solicitation requirements to allow for brand marketing by third-country financial firms with diversified business lines, ensuring these firms can continue their brand-building efforts without being misclassified as soliciting EU clients.