EU Commission plans to “outsource” crypto supervision for the purpose of uniform enforcement of the MiCA rules
- The European Commission wants to delegate practical crypto supervision to the European Securities and Markets Authority ESMA.
- The initiative comes from France, Austria and Italy, which want a stronger role for ESMA because the banks will introduce euro stablecoins in 2026.
The European Commission intends to transfer oversight of the crypto industry to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), which is intended to guarantee uniform application of MiCA regulations across the EU. The measure is intended to eliminate the differences in the practical implementation of the MiCA regulation in the 27 member states.
The EU Commission considers this to be necessary because states have so far applied the MiCA regulations differently, which endangers the unity of the crypto framework and can lead to unwanted location advantages and disadvantages. The Commission emphasized on Thursday that ESMA’s supervision will improve regulatory consistency and ensure that all EU crypto companies report to a single, supranational authority.
The Commission pointed out that coordinated supervision is necessary to avoid fragmentation and improve the efficiency of markets in EU countries:
“EU financial markets remain highly fragmented, small and uncompetitive, leaving potential economies of scale and efficiency gains untapped.”
EU establishes central crypto supervision
France, Austria and Italy urged the EU Commission in September to give ESMA a stronger role in enforcing MiCA. However, the European Parliament and the European Council must approve this shift in authority, and its content depends on negotiations between EU member states.
ESMA plays a similar role to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US, but in the past it has coordinated rather than supervised markets. If ESMA were given direct supervisory powers, it would transform into an EU securities regulator and standardize the enforcement of MiCA regulations across member states.
The project would unify oversight of the crypto industry and other financial services into a single authority. The MiCA regulation contains clear guidelines, the consistent implementation of which would create a more stable, predictable environment for crypto companies than the real existing environment.
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