After several years of intense debate, during its session on 16 May 2023, the European Council finally approved the Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA). MiCA brings a substantial change to the EU regulatory landscape, creating a harmonized regime in terms of issuance and the provision of services in relation to crypto-assets, consistent with the international reach of this technology.
This virtual seminar series provides insights on how the regulatory landscape is changing and discuss the future of crypto within the financial services sector. Recordings of the following sessions are now available — The Crypto Ecosystem; Integrating Crypto into Established Financial Services (Part 1: Funds and Listings and Part 2: Practical Considerations); Crypto Risk: Significant Legal and Regulatory Risks; A Deep Dive into NFTs; and DeFi (Decentralized Finance).
In October 2022, the Council of the EU published the long-awaited compromise text of the proposed Regulation on Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA), a “landmark regulation” that, according to the Council, will “put an end to the crypto wild west”. Once in force, MiCA will establish the first comprehensive, pan-EU regulatory regime for the regulation of cryptoassets, including the regulation of (i) cryptoassets issuance activities and (ii) cryptoasset service providers (who will be held to similar regulatory standards to those imposed on investment firms).
On 24 October 2022, the National Securities Market Commission issued a communication regarding investment recommendations made by influencers on social media. If such influencers are recognized as ‘experts’ under EU standards, they will be contacted by the CNMV and be made to comply with applicable regulations established under the framework of Regulation (EU) 596/2014 on market abuse and its Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/958.
The speed and volume of change in the crypto asset markets has accelerated across the globe, with established financial institutions increasingly entering the sector whilst regulators look to keep pace. Recent high-profile developments and market volatility have led to growing calls for scrutiny and regulatory controls. Navigating this fast paced environment, within a sometimes disjointed regulatory framework, can be challenging. The Crypto Boot Camp 2022 Series covers the crypto ecosystem and integrating crypto into established financial systems (recordings available), crypto risk (3 November 2022), NFTs (15 November 2022), DeFi (1 December 2022), and Growth in Crypto (6 December 2022).
The speed and volume of change in the crypto asset markets has accelerated across the globe, with established financial institutions increasingly entering the sector whilst regulators look to keep pace. Recent high-profile developments and market volatility have led to growing calls for scrutiny and regulatory controls. Navigating this fast paced environment, within a sometimes disjointed regulatory framework, can be challenging.
This virtual seminar series will provide insights on how the regulatory landscape is changing and discuss the future of crypto within the financial services sector. Set out below are details of our 2022 series.
The Spanish Council of Ministers has passed a preliminary bill that is expected to include additional rules on customer services.
As a consequence of Spain’s late implementation of the 5 AML Directive, the Registry of Crypto Exchanges and Custodian Wallet Providers at the Bank of Spain has only been recently activated. Since the end of October 2021, the procedure together with the necessary forms are now available at the Bank of Spain’s website to apply for registration as Exchange Providers of Virtual Currency into Fiat and Electronic Wallets Service Custodians, as provided for in the Spanish Act 10/2010, dated 28 April, on anti-money laundering and terrorism financing.
The new proposed regulation (“Circular”) is aimed at developing the rules, principles and criteria to which crypto-asset advertising will be subject. The Circular defines the type of entities and assets included in its scope and the powers granted to the Spanish financial regulator, the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), so it can supervise and control the adverting of certain types of crypto assets that have been deemed unregulated products thus far. The deadline for interested parties to reply to the public consultation is 31 August 2021.
In a recent article for Practical Law, Paula de Biase provides an overview of the national measures that have been taken in Spain relating to Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector (SFDR).