Esma advice implies that issuers of cryptocurrencies and other assets could be bound by extensive existing regulation.
It is news site FX Week that highlights the possible consequences of the advice paper produced at the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma) some time ago.
National regulators had their say
After conducting a survey last summer among national regulators and competent authorities (NCAs), Esma came to conclusions which could have strong impact on the governing regarding so called initial coin offerings (ICOs) and some other activities related to digital assets.
Esma’s conclusion is that some digital assets may qualify as transferable securities, or other types of financial instrument, under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid).
Contains a meaty overview
The full 55 page paper is available as pdf on Esma’s website. Among its different parts is a rich overview, serving to go through concept definitions, as well as examples of recent ICO cases and market developments. It also provides a taxonomy of crypto assets, based on that developed by Switzerland’s market supervisor Finma.