The European Union’s markets regulator, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), issued a second consultative paper on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) mandates on October 5.
In the 307-page document, the ESMA solicits feedback from interested parties on five areas of MiCA, including sustainability indicators for distributed ledgers, disclosures of inside information, technical requirements for white papers, trade transparency measures, and record-keeping for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs).
Among the sustainability indicators, the Authority tracks quantitative metrics on energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, refuse production, and a qualitative statement on the impact of blockchain network nodes’ use of equipment on natural resources.
Regarding post-trade transparency, the ESMA proposes requiring CASPs to disclose trading and publication date and time, crypto-asset identification, pricing information, quantity, execution venue, and transaction ID.
The ESMA also suggests allowing CASPs to store transaction data in “the format they deem most appropriate” as long as they can convert it into a specified format if authorities request.
By June 30, 2024, the regulator will publish a final report based on the received feedback and submit the proposed technical standards to the European Commission. However, it will release a third consultation package in the first quarter of 2024.
In July, the ESMA issued the previous consultation document. In it, the ESMA proposed requiring crypto firms registered under MiCA to provide additional information in the form of notifications to the national competent authorities (NCAs) of the country where they would be registered.
