EU publishes final regulatory technical standards supplementing regulation on crypto-asset markets

On 13 February 2025, seven final regulatory technical standards (RTS) were published in the Official Journal of the European Union supplementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA). These standards go into force on 5 March.

The following is a summary of the main provisions of the final RTS.

• Procedure for the approval of a crypto-asset white paper: under MiCA, credit institutions must draw up and submit a crypto-asset white paper for the approval of the competent authority before offering the crypto-asset to the public or allowing the trading of asset-referenced tokens. The final RTS lays down the procedural rules of this submission and approval, including the powers of the competent authority to request missing information and changes, and the corresponding deadlines.
• Continuity and regularity in the performance of crypto-asset services: crypto-asset service providers must employ appropriate and proportionate resources and procedures, including resilient and secure ICT systems, as required by Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 on digital operational resilience (DORA). The final RTS complements the provisions of DORA and the related RTS on response and recovery, backup policies and procedures, restoration and recovery procedures and methods concerning the ICT systems of crypto-asset services providers.
• Requirements, templates and procedures for the handling of complaints by the crypto-asset service providers: crypto-asset service providers must establish and maintain procedures for the handling of complaints received from clients and must publish descriptions of these procedures. The final RTS details the procedural rules regarding the practical implementation of the complaint-handling mechanism, including a template for the filing of complaints.
• Requirements, templates and procedures for the handling of complaints relating to asset referenced tokens: issuers of asset-referenced tokens must establish and maintain procedures for the handling of complaints received from holders of asset-referenced tokens and other interested parties and must publish descriptions of these procedures. The final RTS details the procedural rules regarding the practical implementation of the complaint-handling mechanism, including a template for the filing of complaints.
• Template document for cooperation arrangements between competent authorities and supervisory authorities of third countries: competent authorities may conclude cooperation arrangements with supervisory authorities of third countries concerning the exchange of information with those supervisory authorities of third countries and the enforcement of obligations under MiCA in those third countries. The final RTS includes a template document for these cooperation arrangements, outlining the type of assistance to be provided, the cases for denial of assistance and confidentiality restrictions.
• Methodology to estimate the number and value of transactions associated to uses of asset-referenced tokens and of e-money tokens denominated in a currency that is not an official currency of a member state as a means of exchange: for each asset-referenced token with an issue value that is higher than EUR 100 million, the issuer must report on a quarterly basis to the competent authority, the average number and average aggregate value of transactions per day during the relevant quarter. The final RTS specifies the methodology to estimate the quarterly average number and average aggregate value of transactions per day that are associated with use of the asset-referenced token as a means of exchange within a single currency area.
• Conditions for the establishment and functioning of consultative supervisory colleges: to facilitate the exercise of supervisory tasks and act as a vehicle for the coordination of supervisory activities under MiCA, consultative supervisory colleges will be set up by the European Banking Authority for each issuer of a significant asset-referenced token or of a significant e-money token. The final RTS details the determination of the most relevant entities to be included in these consultative supervisory colleges, and the conditions under which an asset-referenced token or an e-money token is deemed to be used at large scale.

Background and further information on MiCA

MiCA lays down uniform requirements for the offer to the public and the  admission to trading on the trading platforms of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens. It also details the requirements for crypto-asset service providers. For a detailed overview of MiCA requirements, see this previous publication.

MiCA applies from 30 December 2024 and the above regulatory technical standards enter into force on 5 March 2025.

For the latest developments on MiCA and RTS and further information on how these may affect your organisation, contact your CMS client partner or these CMS experts.

This article was co-authored by János Bálint.