TL;DR
Get business pricing on office and shipping supplies
- Business-only prices and quantity discounts
- Tax-exempt purchasing
- Multiple users, one account, clear invoices
ESMA has recommended changes to the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, including stronger investor protections, tougher supervision and clearer rules for DeFi and token classification. The proposals were submitted to the European Commission’s public consultation; they are recommendations, not adopted changes to MiCA.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has urged the European Commission to revise the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, recommending stronger investor safeguards, expanded supervisory powers and clearer rules for services such as staking, crypto lending and access to decentralised finance. The recommendations were submitted in response to the Commission’s public consultation and do not, by themselves, change the rules currently in force.
For investors, ESMA proposes stricter requirements for crypto-asset marketing, with particular attention to promotions by influencers and other third parties. It also calls for more transparency about costs and proportionate disclosure requirements for staking, lending and borrowing. The authority says disclosures should help customers understand costs, risks, rewards, collateral arrangements and potential losses before making decisions.
On supervision, ESMA wants authorities to have stronger tools to respond to unauthorised services, online fraud and stablecoins that do not comply with MiCA. Its proposals include improving the EU’s ability to detect and deactivate fraudulent websites and to freeze crypto-assets in cases involving suspected market abuse or terrorist financing. It also recommends reinforced powers to address third-country firms soliciting EU investors without MiCA authorisation, alongside explicit rules preventing regulated crypto firms from offering services tied to non-compliant stablecoins.
ESMA also proposes clearer criteria for deciding whether an activity is genuinely decentralised and a new regulated crypto-asset service category for firms that provide access to DeFi protocols. To make oversight more consistent, it wants rules for classifying crypto-assets, including newer hybrid tokens, and the ability for ESMA to issue binding opinions on token classification.
Stronger Safeguards for Crypto Customers
The recommendations address areas where the current framework may leave customers exposed to unclear promotions, costs and product risks. More detailed disclosures could help people compare services and understand that staking or lending can involve potential losses as well as returns. The proposals also target risks that can cross borders quickly, including fraudulent websites and firms that seek EU customers without authorisation.
For crypto businesses, changes could affect how products are marketed, which services require authorisation and how assets are classified. ESMA argues that more consistent rules would reduce differences in supervisory treatment across EU countries and limit opportunities for regulatory arbitrage. Those effects remain prospective: the authority has made recommendations, while decisions on any legislative changes rest with the EU institutions.
Products Worth Considering
Logitech MX Mechanical Full-Size Wireless Mechanical Keyboard, Tactile Quiet Switches, Backlit Keys, Bluetooth, USB-C, Multi-Device, Graphit
Dell UltraSharp U2725QE 27-Inch 4K UHD IPS Black Monitor
Logitech MX Master 4 for Mac, Ergonomic Bluetooth Mouse with Haptic Feedback, Ultra-Fast Scrolling, USB-C Charging, for MacOS, iPadOS, Windo
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
The Commission Is Reviewing MiCA
MiCA is the European Union’s framework for crypto-assets and related services. ESMA, the EU authority responsible for financial markets oversight and supervision, contributed its recommendations to a European Commission public consultation on reviewing the regulation. The review gives the Commission an opportunity to consider whether the framework needs adjustments as crypto services and business models develop.
Alongside proposed changes to MiCA, ESMA raised a longer-term issue: the EU may need a framework for tokenised securities and on-chain settlement to support an integrated tokenised capital market and cross-border activity. The authority presented that as a future market-development need, distinct from its immediate recommendations for the MiCA review.
“ESMA’s recommendations aim to simplify the framework while improving investor protection and addressing innovative business models.”
— European Securities and Markets Authority
No Changes Adopted Yet
The source material confirms that ESMA submitted recommendations, but it does not say which proposals the Commission will accept or whether they will become amendments to MiCA. No implementation schedule or legislative text is provided. The scope of any new DeFi service category, the proposed classification process and the practical limits of expanded enforcement powers therefore remain unsettled.
It is also unclear how the suggested powers to deactivate websites or freeze assets would be defined and applied in practice. ESMA describes them as measures for specific risks, including suspected market abuse or terrorist financing; the source does not provide further procedural details.
Commission Review Sets the Next Step
The European Commission will consider responses to its public consultation on MiCA, including ESMA’s recommendations. The source material does not identify a date for the Commission’s next decision or say whether it plans to propose legislative changes. Any eventual revisions would require action beyond ESMA’s consultation response.
Readers should watch for the Commission’s conclusions and any subsequent proposals, which would clarify whether disclosure rules, supervisory powers, DeFi coverage or token-classification procedures will change. ESMA’s separate call for a framework for tokenised securities and on-chain settlement points to a broader policy discussion, but no timetable or specific legislative plan is stated.
Key Questions
Has MiCA changed following ESMA’s recommendations?
No. ESMA submitted recommendations to the European Commission’s public consultation. The source does not report that any proposed changes have been adopted.
What investor protections does ESMA propose?
ESMA recommends tighter rules for crypto marketing, including influencer promotions, more transparent cost information and disclosures for staking, lending and borrowing covering risks, rewards, collateral and possible losses.
What does ESMA propose for DeFi?
It recommends clearer criteria for identifying genuinely decentralised activity and a new regulated crypto-asset service category for firms that give users access to DeFi protocols.
When could the recommendations take effect?
The source provides no timetable. The Commission must consider the consultation responses, and the recommendations are not themselves binding changes to MiCA.
Source: primary
