European Commission Wants to Transfer Crypto Oversight to ESMA

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, has proposed transferring the supervision of cryptocurrency companies from individual member states to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). This move aims to eliminate fragmentation caused by differing national supervisory approaches and fully integrate EU financial markets, which the Commission stated are currently fragmented and lack competitiveness. The proposal follows concerns that national regulators were diverging too much despite the Markets in Crypto-Asset (MiCA) regulation. National regulators, including those from France, Austria, and Italy, had previously requested ESMA take tighter control over MiCA implementation. While ESMA currently focuses more on coordination than direct supervision like the U.S. SEC, this transfer of "direct supervisory competences" could make it more akin to an EU equivalent of the SEC. The proposals must still be negotiated and approved by the European Parliament and the European Council.

(Source：CoinDesk)