The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has published the second Final Report under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) covering eight draft technical standards that aim to provide more transparency for retail investors, clarity for providers on the technical aspects of disclosure and record-keeping requirements, and data standards to facilitate supervision by National Competent Authorities (NCAs).
The final report published today includes the following draft technical standards:
sustainability indicators for crypto-asset consensus mechanisms;
business continuity measures for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs);
trade transparency;
content and format of orderbooks and record-keeping by CASPs;
machine readability of white papers and the register of white papers; and
public disclosure of inside information.
The draft standards provide market participants with technical requirements to ensure human and machine readability of crypto-asset white papers, as well as templates and formats for CASP order and transaction records. The rules also detail how CASP trading platforms should publish the data required for pre-and post-trade transparency. Once in place, this will ensure that NCAs have access to the information needed for effective supervision of the EU crypto-asset market.
Finally, the report covers public disclosures, helping investors to understand the impact on the climate and the environment of the consensus mechanisms underpinning the crypto-assets they hold, as well as descriptions on how issuers should disclose price-sensitive information to the public to prevent market abuses, such as insider dealing.