This is Part 3 of the series ‘Meet MiCA – the new global standard for crypto-asset regulation’
Under MiCA, crypto-asset services will become ‘financial services’, and wherever a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) solicits clients in the EU, it will have to have be a legal entity with a registered office in the EU and a relevant authorisation. That is a significant shift away from the current status quo, where CASPs are not subject to regulation unless they engage in an activity that is within the perimeter of existing EU legislation (for example: dealing in financial instruments as defined in MiFID, or where they are ‘obliged entities’ under the AMLD) or national law (for example: in Malta).
While MiCA will not be able to bring every organisation that engages in crypto-asset activities within the regulated space it will still change the market significantly. Parts of the market will remain outside the perimeter, either because they do not solicit services in the EU or where there is no identifiable party – think of the early manifestations of DeFi, i.e., interoperable, user-governed blockchain-based applications that provide functions comparable to financial services. This and other questions related to the perimeter of MiCA, together with enforcement challenges, will be one of the main aspects discussed in this seminar.
Turning back to what is in scope, as crypto-asset services from now on are regarded as financial services, it comes as no surprise that the duties of CASPs are closely modelled on the duties imposed on the different types of existing financial services providers: all CASPs are subject to organisational requirements and additional requirements apply, depending on the nature of the service they provide, in particular rules on client asset protection, prudential risks, the establishment of policies regarding order execution, or the need to implement detailed operating and transparency rules. Mapping these different sets of requirements onto the ecosystem of CASPs will be the second main aspect of this seminar.
YOUR PANEL
Philipp Paech is the founder of navigatingfintech.com and a passionate educator, consultant and policy-maker specialising in regulation of financial services for more than 20 years. He is the main author of the 30 Recommendations on Innovation, Regulation and Finance instituted by the EU Commission in 2018, which became one of the base documents of the EU’s current Digital Finance Strategy. He is a leading member of the Unidroit global digital asset expert group. Philipp researches and teaches at London School of Economics and the European University Institute in Florence.
Julien Nivot is the Head of Regulatory Affairs of Ledger, a company specialised in security solutions and infrastructure for crypto-assets and blockchain applications. He began his career at the French Financial Authority (Autorité des marchés financiers – AMF) as a Policy Officer in charge of financial innovation topics. As part of his job, Julien participated in the development of the French legal framework for crypto-assets (Blockchain Order & Decree, PACTE law) and was responsible for the development of the AMF’s positions on the European Commission’s Digital Finance Package (MiCAR, PRR). Julien is also a PhD Student at the Paris-Assas University with a research project focusing on the impact of crypto-asset on the traditional financial infrastructures.
Sophie Allain des Beauvais is a policy expert at Banque de France, focusing on payment services and cryptoassets policy. After graduating from LSE with an MSc in International Political Economy, she completed the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) graduate programme, where she worked various Strategy and International roles to ensure the UK financial services sector was prepared for the end of the EU withdrawal transition period. Her current research interests relate to financial sector interconnectedness, the social foundations driving the development of cryptoassets worldwide, and the impact of narratives on the economy and regulatory paradigms.
