These guidelines are issued under Article 16(1) of the ESMA Regulation and Article 2(5) of MiCA. The purpose of these guidelines is to "specify conditions and criteria for determining whether a cryptoasset should qualify as a financial instrument and therefore ensuring the common, uniform and consistent application of the provisions in Article 2(4)(a) of MiCA. Furthermore, these guidelines provide clarifications on certain features of utility tokens, NFTs and hybrid tokens."

The following were published:

• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/292 supplementing MiCA with regard to RTS establishing a template document for co-operation arrangements between competent authorities and supervisory authorities of third countries under Article 107(3).
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/293 supplementing MiCA with regard to RTS specifying the requirements, templates and procedures for the handling of complaints relating to ARTs under Article 31(5).
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/294 supplementing MiCA with regard to RTS specifying the requirements, templates and procedures for the handling of complaints by CASPs under Article 71(5).
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/296 supplementing MiCA with regard to RTS specifying the procedure for the approval of a cryptoasset white paper under Article 17(8).
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/297 supplementing MiCA with regard to RTS specifying the conditions for the establishment and functioning of consultative supervisory colleges under Article 119(8).
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/298 supplementing MiCA with regard to RTS specifying the methodology to estimate the number and value of transactions associated to uses of ARTs and of EMTs denominated in a currency that is not an official currency of a member state as a means of exchange under Article 22(6).
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/299 supplementing MiCA with regard to RTS on continuity and regularity in the performance of cryptoasset services under Article 68(10).

The guidelines are addressed to competent authorities, issuers of ARTs and issuers of EMTs. They specify common templates and instructions for issuers to provide competent authorities and the EBA with the necessary information to cover identified reporting data gaps. The guidelines also include common templates and instructions that issuers should use to collect the data they need from relevant CASPs, contained in annexes in section 4 of the report:

• Annex I: Templates for issuers of ARTs and EMTs;
• Annex II: Instructions for issuers of ARTs and EMTs;
• Annex III: Templates for CASPs;
• Annex IV: Instructions for CASPs; and
• Annex V: Data point model (DPM) and validation rules.

The EBA also published a visual explainer providing guidance on which templates should be submitted by the different types of issuers. The EBA states that changes to the draft guidelines were made in the light of the consultation responses received. The guidelines will apply two months after publication on the EBA website of the translations in the EU official languages.

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament will now scrutinise the Delegated Regulation. If neither objects, the Regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and enter into force 20 days after publication.

On 16 December, the European Commission adopted the following Delegated Regulations supplementing MiCA:

• A Commission Delegated Regulation laying down RTS specifying the data necessary for the classification of cryptoasset white papers and the practical arrangements to ensure that such data is machine-readable, together with an Annex;
• A Commission Delegated Regulation laying down RTS specifying the minimum content of the governance arrangements on the remuneration policy of issuers of significant asset-referenced or e-money tokens; and
• A Commission Delegated Regulation laying down RTS specifying the procedure and timeframe for an issuer of asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) or of e-money tokens (EMTs) to adjust the amount of its own funds.

The next step is for the Delegated Regulations to be published in the Official Journal of the EU. They will come into force 20 days after publication.

The Guidelines include a standardised test to promote a common approach to classification as well as templates market participants should use when communicating to supervisors the regulatory classification of a cryptoasset. 

The Guidelines specify the "content of the redemption plan to be developed by issuers of ARTs and EMTs in going concern, including the liquidation strategies of the reserve of assets, the mapping of critical activities, the content of the redemption claims, the main steps of the redemption process, and the elements that may lead to the trigger of the plan by the competent authority."