The final report includes the following draft technical standards: 

1. sustainability indicators for cryptoasset consensus mechanisms; 
2. business continuity measures for cryptoasset service providers (CASPs); 
3. trade transparency; 
4. content and format of orderbooks and record-keeping by CASPs; 
5. machine readability of white papers and the register of white papers; and 
6. public disclosure of inside information. 

The draft guidelines on the suitability assessment of the members of the management body of issuers of ARTs and CASPs provide common criteria to assess the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience of members of the management body as well as their good repute, honesty and integrity and if they are able to commit sufficient time to perform their duties.

The draft guidelines on the suitability assessment of shareholders or members, whether direct or indirect, with qualifying holdings in issuers of ARTs or CASPs provide competent authorities common methodology to assess the suitability of the shareholders and members with direct or indirect qualifying holdings for purposes of granting authorisation as issuers of ARTs or as CASPs, and for carrying out the prudential assessment of proposed acquisitions.

Deadline for comments is 22 January 2024.

ESMA is seeking input on five sets of proposed rules, covering:

• sustainability indicators for distributed ledgers;
• disclosures of inside information;
• technical requirements for white papers;
• trade transparency measures; and
• record-keeping and business continuity requirements for cryptoasset service providers.

Deadline for comments is 14 December 2023. 

ESMA will publish a final report on the basis of feedback received and submit the draft technical standards to the European Commission for endorsement by 30 June 2024 at the latest.

The article is in six sections:

(i) an overview of recent market developments; 

(ii) analysis of specific sources of risk; 

(iii) potential transmission channels to traditional financial markets; 

(iv) ESMA's approach to monitoring risks in the market; 

(v) a brief overview of regulatory responses; and 

(vi) concluding remarks.

The report says cryptoasset markets reached new records in 2H21, with a peak at EUR 2.6 trillion in November, which was fuelled by "investor appetite for riskier assets and growing institutional adoption."

Stablecoins and decentralised finance (DeFi) continued to "expand rapidly", along with concerns over the resilience of their business models. The implementation of the markets in cryptoassets (MiCA) proposal is therefore a "priority matter", as it will bring unregulated cryptoassets into the EU regulatory perimeter.