27 Jun MiCA timeline
1. Introduction
After reaching a provisional political agreement on the final text on 30 June 2022, the Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCA) was formally voted on and adopted in the plenary of the European Parliament on 20 April 2023. Subsequently, MiCA was formally signed into law by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on 31 May 2023. On 9 June 2023 MiCA was finally published in the Official Journal of the European Union (the OJEU).
This blog outlines an overview of the relevant dates of the remainder of the legislative process. In addition, this blog will highlight the dates of entry into application and the transitional measures.
2. Entry into force and application
Pursuant to art. 149 MiCA, the regulation will enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the OJEU (30 June 2023).
With the entry into force not all rules of MiCA will apply immediately. The only rules that will immediately enter into application relate to the provision of additional regulatory guidance, such as rules on the development of regulatory technical standards, the issuance of guidelines and the adoption of delegated acts by EU regulators and supervisors. This is expected to be published in 2024-2025.
On 30 June 2024 the rules relating to stablecoin issuers will apply. These rules are divided into rules for asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and rules for e-money tokens (EMTs), which are set out Titles III and IV MiCA.
On 30 December 2024 all other rules will apply. These rules include, inter alia, rules for issuers of crypto-assets other than ARTs/EMTs, crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), and the prevention of market abuse.
Based on the above, the next steps are as follows:
- Entry into force: 30 June 2023
- Entry into application:
- 30 June 2023: rules on additional regulatory guidance;
- 30 June 2024: rules for ARTs/EMTs;
- 30 December 2024: all other rules.
3. Transitional measures
Pursuant to art. 143 MiCA, the regulation sets out several transitional measures relating to various topics.
In brief, these rules relate to the following:
- Offers of crypto-assets before 30 December 2024;
- Admissions to trading before 30 December 2024;
- CASPs that provided their services in accordance with applicable law before 30 December 2024;
- Issuers that issued ARTs in accordance with applicable law before 30 June 2024; and
- The option for Member States to apply a simplified procedure for applications for an authorisation as a CASP that is submitted between 30 December 2024 and 1 July 2026 by entities that were authorised under national law to provide crypto-asset services on the date of entry into application.
Offers of crypto-assets
Regarding offers of crypto-assets to the public that ended before 30 December 2024, the rules for issuers pursuant to art. 4-15 MiCA shall not apply. These rules include, inter alia, the obligation to publish a crypto-asset white paper, rules on marketing communication, the 14 days right of withdrawal for retail holders, and liability of issuers in case of a misleading crypto-asset white paper.
Admissions to trading
Regarding admissions to trading of crypto-assets other than ARTs/EMTs before 30 December 2024, only certain rules shall apply. These rules include rules on marketing communication published after 30 December 2024 and an obligation for operators of a trading platform to ensure by 31 December 2027 that a crypto-asset white paper has been published in cases required by MiCA.
Crypto-asset service providers (CASPs)
CASPs that provided their services in accordance with applicable law – i.e. the registration obligation pursuant to the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) – before 30 December 2024, may continue to do so until 1 July 2026 or until they are granted or refused an authorisation as a CASP, whichever is sooner. Member States may decide not to apply the transitional regime for CASPs or to reduce its duration. On 14 July 2023 the Dutch legislator has published a proposal for the MiCA implementation act (Uitvoeringswet verordening cryptoactiva, MiCA Implementation Act). Pursuant to this proposal the Dutch legislator intends to reduce the transitional period for registered crypto service providers to 6 months. Please find more information about this development in our blog on the MiCA Implementation Act.
Issuers of asset-referenced tokens
The transitional measures also include rules for issuers that issued ARTs in accordance with applicable law before 30 June 2024. As there are no specific rules for stablecoin issuers in the Netherlands prior to MiCA, the transitional measures regarding ARTs are of less relevance for issuers in the Netherlands.
Member State option for simplified procedure
Member States may apply a simplified procedure for applications for an authorisation as a CASP that is submitted between 30 December 2024 and 1 July 2026 by entities that were authorised under national law to provide crypto-asset services on 30 December 2024. In case of such simplified procedure, the competent authorities shall ensure that the obligations for CASPs as set out in Chapters 2 and 3 of Title V MiCA are complied with before granting authorisation.
4. AMLD5 registration vs. MiCA authorisation
For the avoidance of doubt, a few words should be devoted to the relationship between the current registration regime for crypto service providers pursuant to AMLD5 and the future authorisation regime for CASPs pursuant to MiCA. Under the current legal framework of AMLD5 CASPs providing exchange services between crypto-assets and fiat currency and custodial wallets are subject to registration in every Member State it is actively targeting.
This registration obligation will not coincide with the authorisation obligation for CASPs in accordance with MiCA. The aforementioned follows from art. 38(8) of the Transfer of Funds Regulation Recast (TFR). Pursuant to this article the current AMLD5 article stipulating the registration obligation will be replaced. It will therefore not be necessary to apply for both the AMLD registration and the MiCA authorisation simultaneously.
Do you have any questions about MiCA and its implications for your business? Please contact Willem-Jan Smits or Marlinde Nannings. Our team is ready to help you.