EBA brings the application of MiCAR to the attention of issuers, consumers, and other relevant stakeholders and announces priorities for the supervision of issuers of ARTs and EMTs for 2024/2025

The EBA expects any person who intends to commence ART/EMT activities to comply fully with MiCAR as from 30 June 2024. Issuers who have issued ARTs (asset reference tokens) in accordance with applicable law prior to 30 June 2024 may continue to do so in accordance with the transitional arrangements set out in Article 143(4) and (5) MiCAR. No similar transitional arrangement applies for EMTs (e-money tokens).

Consumers considering buying a crypto-asset that aims to maintain a stable value by reference to an official currency (an EMT), or right(s) or value(s) or a combination thereof (an ART), should check whether the issue, offer, or admission to trading is carried out in accordance with MiCAR.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published a statement for the attention of persons issuing to the public, offering to the public, or seeking admission to trading of asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs) and for consumers. The EBA also sets out key topics for supervisory attention across the European Union for issuers of ARTs/EMTs in 2024/2025. Both documents are intended to promote the timely and consistent application of MiCAR. 

The regime for ARTs and EMTs established by the Regulation on Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCAR) has now entered into application. In this light, the EBA reminds persons who are issuing, or intend to issue, to the public, to offer to the public, or to seek admission to trading ARTs and EMTs of the new requirements under MiCAR, and draws attention to the technical standards and guidelines available on its website.

The EBA draws attention to factors consumers can check before deciding whether to acquire an ART, EMT or other type of crypto-asset and reminds consumers of the risks of acquiring crypto-assets that have not be issued in accordance with the applicable provisions of MiCAR.

As MiCAR brings into the scope of regulation ART/EMT activities, the EBA , with the aim of driving supervisory convergence, shares with the competent authorities a single set of supervisory priorities for implementation in 2024/2025 in four areas:

. internal governance and risk management;

. financial resilience (including, where applicable, own funds requirements and reserve of assets);

. technology risk management; and 

. financial crime risk management.

A high level of holder protection and financial stability remain as overarching objectives to consider for all priority areas.

Background and next steps

The EBA has been actively engaging with industry to encourage a ‘compliance by design’ approach pending the application of MiCAR (see in particular the EBA’s July 2023 transition phase statement), and is continuing these actions with a view to ensuring prompt compliance with the ART and EMT regime that entered into application on 30 June 2024.

Additionally, the EBA has been actively engaging with competent authorities further to its mandate to promote supervisory convergence, in order to build a common supervisory culture and consistent supervisory practices regarding ART and EMT issuance activities. The goal is to ensure effective supervision under MiCAR and to promote the best practices that are being adopted by supervisors.

The EBA will continue promoting cooperation and coordination between competent authorities and strives to promote high standards of holder protection in the context of ART and EMT activities and other activities within the EBA‘s scope of action.

The EBA’s technical standards and guidelines under MiCAR are available here.

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Documents

EBA statement on the application of MiCAR to ARTs and EMTs (146.03 KB – PDF) – Download

Priorities for the supervision of for ART and EMT issuers (181 KB – PDF) Download

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