The European Commission plans to transfer regulation of cryptocurrency firms, stock exchanges, and clearing houses from national authorities to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
ESMA Chair Verena Ross stated in an interview with the Financial Times that this shift aims to create “a capital market in Europe that is more integrated and globally competitive,” while addressing “continued fragmentation in markets.”
For the cryptocurrency sector, this transition aligns with Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which currently tasks national authorities with issuing licenses. Earlier this year, ESMA criticized Malta’s process for approving pan-EU licenses for crypto providers, as noted by the FT.
Ross emphasized, “While we are doing a lot of work to ensure the implementation of MiCA is coordinated, it clearly requires significant effort from both us and the national supervisors. This also means that resources and expertise have to be developed independently across 27 different national supervisors, which could be managed more efficiently at the European level.”
However, the push for centralization at ESMA has met resistance from several smaller countries with substantial financial sectors, including Malta, Ireland, and Luxembourg.