ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, as part of the EU's extensive cryptocurrency regulations, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a consultation document on February 17, seeking input from stakeholders, "with the aim of developing guidelines to assess the knowledge and competence of individuals providing advice on crypto assets or information regarding crypto assets or crypto asset services on behalf of crypto asset service providers."The guidelines will align with the EU's Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), published in June 2023, aiming to establish consistent standards for employees providing crypto advice and information to clients, enhance investor protection, and promote trust in the crypto market.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) released its final guidance on Tuesday to assist member states in implementing the upcoming regulations. ESMA published the final report on reverse solicitation, systems, the potential classification of cryptocurrencies as financial instruments, and technical standards for preventing market abuse.The EU's dedicated regulation for the cryptocurrency industry, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, is set to come into effect on December 30 across 27 member states. However, some countries have yet to develop legislation to implement MiCA. The Bank of Portugal stated on Monday that, as the legislation has not yet been passed, it is currently unclear which national authority will be responsible for these rules. Industry associations noted that part of the delay in national authorities is due to the short time gap between ESMA's release of the final technical standards in October and the implementation date.ESMA Chair Verena Ross stated, "Looking ahead, as the transition period progresses, we will continue to provide guidance and work with all national competent authorities (NCAs) to ensure the smooth implementation of MiCA and support a level playing field through regulatory convergence actions."

ChainCatcher news, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) stated on Wednesday that cryptocurrency companies should be required to undergo external audits of their network defenses, and urged lawmakers in Brussels to amend the region's flagship regulatory framework for the crypto industry to better protect consumers.The agency believes that stricter cybersecurity rules are an important component of the EU's regulation of the crypto asset market (MiCA), which will come into full effect in December.ESMA has been advocating for the inclusion of a requirement for cryptocurrency companies to have their ability to withstand cyberattacks audited by a third party, as the agency works to finalize the implementation of these rules. These rules were passed by EU lawmakers last year.However, the European Commission opposed this move, stating that ESMA is overstepping its authority and going beyond the legislative mandate. Both sides declined to comment.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Coinbase is preparing to delist non-compliant stablecoins in Europe by the end of 2024, but the status of the world's largest stablecoin Tether's USDt remains unclear. While Coinbase has not officially announced whether the upcoming restrictions will affect USDT, some reports and community discussions suggest that Tether may face challenges under the new regulations.As of early October, the regulatory status of USDT in Europe remains uncertain. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is the EU financial market regulator and one of the main overseers of MiCA compliance, and so far, the agency has chosen to remain silent on Tether's regulatory status.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the European Securities and Markets Authority stated that although MiCA will come into effect at the end of the year, it has not yet facilitated an increase in cryptocurrency trading in euros, but this could become a potential growth driver as it aims to strengthen investor protection.It is reported that since the formal legislation of this regulatory framework last year, the level of cryptocurrency trading denominated in euros has remained stable at around 10%.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Cointelegraph, a research report released by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) states that "currently, the cryptocurrency market, including DeFi, does not pose a significant risk to financial stability, mainly due to its relatively small size and the limited channels of contagion between crypto and traditional financial markets."ESMA also investigated several major events in 2022, including the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and FTX, and noted that this crypto "Lehman moment" has still not had a significant impact on traditional markets.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has released a second consultation paper on the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).ESMA is seeking stakeholder feedback on five areas of MiCA, including sustainability indicators for distributed ledger technology, insider information disclosure, technical requirements for white papers, measures for trading transparency, and record-keeping for crypto asset service providers (CASPs).

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU financial markets regulator, has published its first consultation paper under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and invited stakeholders to provide feedback by September 20, 2023. ESMA is seeking opinions on the proposed rules for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), particularly regarding their authorization, the identification and management of conflicts of interest, and how CASPs should handle complaints. The consultation document states that MiCA will serve as the cornerstone of EU regulation for crypto assets. Among other things, it sets out the authorization and supervision of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), requirements for providing crypto-asset services and activities, authorization and supervision of trading platforms, and requirements for crypto-asset trading activities across the EU. The implementation of MiCA will require market participants to undertake extensive preparatory activities to comply with the new rules.Additionally, ESMA aims to gather more information about respondents' current and planned activities as part of a fact-finding exercise to better understand the EU crypto-asset market and its future developments. These questions relate to factors such as respondents' expected turnover, the number of white papers they plan to publish, and the use of on-chain versus off-chain transactions. Feedback from this part of the consultation will be kept confidential and will be used to refine certain proposals included in the second and third consultation packages. ESMA will consider the feedback received from this consultation and expects to publish a final report and submit a draft of the technical standards for approval by the European Commission by June 30, 2024, at the latest.

ChainCatcher news, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will consult in July on proposed new complaint handling and conflict of interest rules that EU-based cryptocurrency companies must comply with, providing recommendations on how the new EU crypto assets market (MiCA) rules will operate in practice.ESMA stated that the second round of consultations in October will consider the disclosure of environmental impacts and may also cover trading transparency and governance requirements, while the third round of consultations, due in early 2024, will focus on market abuse and investor protection. (source link)