If you are familiar with Ovoro’s Road Map, you already know that the next step is to get our operating licenses which we hope to accomplish by Q1/2024. That is a complicated process, but once we get there, our users will be able to invest real money in crypto assets with our automated crypto investment app.
For us, transparency and user success are crucial, and that being so, we welcome the upcoming changes in the EU legislation because we believe they will be beneficial to all parties involved in the crypto market. Let us have a look at what those changes are and why they matter.
For a long time, European policymakers have considered the issue of cryptocurrencies and the market itself, wondering whether crypto assets should be isolated, regulated, or integrated.
A study called “The economic potential and risks of crypto assets: is a regulatory framework needed?” published in 2018, recommended regulation instead of isolation and pointed out several important questions:
MiCA is an attempt to resolve, if not all, at least some of the above issues. The abbreviation stands for markets in crypto assets and hence the name — Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or the MiCA Regulation for short.
In short, the MiCa Regulation is the European Parliament’s first attempt to create standardized rules for the offering and trading of various types of crypto assets within the European Union. It also sets requirements for crypto-asset service providers and covers aspects such as transparency, authorization, supervision, and protection of asset holders and clients, and introduces measures against insider trading and market manipulation. The idea is to protect market integrity and guarantee the proper functioning of the crypto-asset markets.
Under the MiCA Regulation, people who are allowed to provide crypto-asset services within the Union are:
The above must have a registered office in a Member State where they perform at least part of their crypto-asset services, with at least one EU resident as part of the executive team.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will establish a public register of crypto-assets service providers who do not comply with the legislation and operate in the EU without authorization to ensure consumer protection and transparency and encourage fair competition.
Service providers have responsibilities when dealing with clients. Among other things, they must:
The current situation in the crypto world allows for transactions to remain anonymous within the blockchain they occur. The new European regulation aims to make such transactions traceable and more transparent.
For example, for transfers to happen, crypto-asset service providers must require and include information on the originator (the person or entity who makes the transfer) and the beneficiary (the person who accepts the transfer). Some of the personal data includes:
In addition, the originator must also provide their physical address, including their country and, in some cases, date of birth.
Crypto-asset service providers must be able to detect if any of the required information is missing and take necessary actions to acquire it. Continued failure to provide all data as per the MiCa Regulation obliges the crypto asset service provider to assess whether a transfer is suspicious and whether it is to be reported to the FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit). Transfers that do not comply will not be initiated or executed.
The traceability of funds and crypto-asset transfers is a valuable tool to detect, investigate and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. However, under the MiCa Regulation processing such data for commercial purposes is prohibited.
Apart from having transparent, fair, and non-discriminatory fee structures, those who run crypto-asset trading platforms must not create incentives that encourage market abuse through placing, modifying, or canceling orders or executing transactions.
In addition, and among other things, their trading systems must be resilient and have the capacity to:
Upon identifying market abuse or attempted market abuse happening on or through their trading systems, they must notify the competent authorities.
Because the methods used to acquire cryptocurrencies and validate crypto-asset transactions might have negative impacts on the environment and the climate, issuers of crypto-assets and crypto-asset service providers should identify and disclose such impacts and work to adopt more eco-friendly alternatives for validation.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in cooperation with the European Banking Authority (EBA) will work to provide additional clarification and detailed guidelines on the content, methodologies, and presentation of information about sustainability and energy indicators. This joint effort aims to improve the transparency and accuracy of reporting in these areas and make sure that the information is effectively communicated and easily accessible.
The regulations aim to improve consumer protection by providing transparency and better information about the risks and costs related to crypto-asset operations. A public register with non-compliant entities additionally helps consumers make informed decisions and protect themselves from deception and fraud.
Setting a unified legal framework provides clarity for the industry. Clarity and transparency are crucial for building trust, promoting fair competition, security, and the crypto-asset industry development.
With regulation, supervising the crypto-asset market is possible. Clearly established rules give regulators and other bodies of authority tools that help them prevent market manipulation, money laundering, and other financial crimes.
By requiring big crypto asset providers to disclose their energy consumption and encouraging them to implement more environment-friendly validation methods, regulators are looking to face a known issue and find ways to resolve it.
According to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the MiCA consultation packages are released step-by-step, and the first package is scheduled to be launched in July 2023.
The second one is expected in October 2023, and the final third will be available in the first quarter of 2024.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for information only and does not constitute legal advice. Always review legislation directly and consult legal professionals if needed.
Ovoro is a crypto investment app that simplifies and automates crypto trading 24/7.
We are in beta. Real-money investing will be possible when we complete our beta stage. Now is the best time to test Ovoro with our virtual money and see which trading opportunity best suits your needs.
Remember! The performance of the Ovoro collections reflects the real world. All the results — good or bad would have happened with real money, too.
Ovoro is the future of crypto investing.