The report presents ESMA’s proposed way forward and includes the feedback received following the Call for Evidence launched in January and a workshop organised in March 2022. 

In the report, ESMA provides guidance on certain technical elements and makes recommendations on compensatory measures on supervisory data to ensure a consistent application by DLT market infrastructures from the start of the regime.

ESMA concludes that there is no need to amend the RTS on transparency and data reporting requirements before the DLT Pilot starts applying in March 2023.

The pilot regime sets out the conditions for acquiring permission to operate a DLT market infrastructure, defines which DLT financial instruments can be traded and details the cooperation between the operators of DLT market infrastructures, national competent authorities and ESMA.

A provisional agreement between the Council of the EU and the European Parliament was reached on the following key issues:

• definition of the DLT market infrastructure;
• thresholds for admission to trading or recording on a distributed ledger;
• supervision: national competent authorities will remain in charge for the authorisation while the ESMA can issue an opinion on the application. The opinion would be non-public and non-binding but an explanation would be needed in case the national competent authorities decide to significantly deviate from it;
• consumer protection: DLT operators will have mechanisms for handling clients’ complaints and their compensation

This pilot regime will be in place for three years. The European Commission, based on advice from ESMA, will then report to the Council of the EU and the European Parliament on the costs and benefits of extending, modifying or ending it.