According to Cointelegraph, the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) have jointly released a consultation paper containing two drafts proposing a common approach to regulating crypto assets. With these guidelines, they aim to establish a common framework for the issuance of crypto assets and the regulation of services offered by crypto asset service providers in Europe, with the goal of preserving the integrity of crypto assets in Europe and ensuring their reliability.
Key Areas of the Guidelines:
Authorization of Asset-Referenced Tokens (ART) and Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASP): The guidelines regulate the authorization processes for ARTs and CASPs to conduct their activities within a legal framework.
Fitness Assessment: The guidelines also propose common rules for assessing the fitness of direct or indirect shareholders or members with qualified holdings in ART and CASP issuers.
Prudential Assessments: Crypto asset service providers will be required to conduct prudential assessments before accepting potential customers or investors. This is aimed at protecting customers and ensuring market stability.
Overall Objective of the Guidelines
In summary, the overarching objective of these guidelines is to preserve the integrity of the crypto asset market in Europe, establish reliability, and minimize rule violations related to crypto asset services.
