{"id":21147,"date":"2025-06-10T17:02:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T15:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/watsonlaw.nl\/?p=21147"},"modified":"2026-08-05T17:03:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T15:03:44","slug":"esma-mica-qa-proprietary-trading-under-mica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/watsonlaw.nl\/en\/esma-mica-qa-proprietary-trading-under-mica\/","title":{"rendered":"ESMA Q&A on proprietary trading under MiCA"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]ESMA has published a new MiCA Q&A on proprietary trading under MiCA<\/strong>. In this Q&A, the European Commission has clarified whether firms dealing in crypto-assets on their own account require a CASP license.<\/p>\n

The answer depends on whether the activity involves providing a service to a client.<\/p>\n

What has been clarified?<\/h2>\n

A firm qualifies as a CASP if it provides one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis. Proprietary trading generally does not involve such a client relationship: the firm trades in its own name and for its own account.<\/p>\n

A firm that trades with its own capital on a crypto-asset trading platform therefore does not require a CASP licence merely because it engages in proprietary trading. The same applies to a firm acting as a market maker on a trading platform: according to the Q&A, that activity does not in itself involve a client relationship and does not require CASP authorisation or notification.<\/p>\n

The position changes where the firm trades directly with clients using its own capital. Concluding purchase or sale contracts with clients falls within the MiCA services of:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • exchanging crypto-assets for funds; or<\/li>\n
  • exchanging crypto-assets for other crypto-assets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

     <\/p>\n

    A firm providing either service must obtain the relevant CASP authorisation. Calling the activity \u201cproprietary trading\u201d does not change that conclusion: the existence of a direct contractual relationship with the client is decisive.<\/p>\n

    An exception applies where the exchange is carried out by the issuer or offeror of the relevant crypto-asset. Recital 87 MiCA clarifies that such activity should not be treated as a crypto-asset service.<\/p>\n

    What does this mean in practice?<\/h2>\n

    Firms trading with proprietary capital should establish who their counterparty is:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • If the firm places proprietary orders or acts as a market maker on a third-party trading platform, the activity generally does not require a CASP licence.<\/li>\n
    • If the firm buys crypto-assets from, or sells crypto-assets to, its own clients, it provides a regulated exchange service and requires the corresponding CASP authorisation.<\/li>\n
    • If the firm operates a crypto-asset trading platform, Article 76(5) MiCA prohibits it from dealing on its own account on that same platform.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Firms should therefore review their trading flows, contractual relationships and client interfaces. In particular, they should determine whether trades are concluded anonymously through a third-party platform or directly between the firm and a client. Firms that currently treat direct client transactions as unregulated proprietary trading may need to obtain a CASP authorisation or discontinue that activity.<\/p>\n

      Conclusion<\/h2>\n

      Proprietary trading is not a regulated crypto-asset service merely because a firm trades with its own capital. The regulatory boundary is crossed where the firm uses that capital to conclude exchange transactions directly with clients. Market making on a third-party platform generally remains outside the CASP licensing requirement, while a CASP operating a trading platform may not trade on its own account on that same platform.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      ESMA has published a new MiCA Q&A on proprietary trading under MiCA. For CASPs, the key issue is whether internal trading activity remains purely proprietary or may fall within a regulated MiCA service in practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":21146,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457,206],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crypto-en","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nESMA Q&A on proprietary trading under MiCA - Watsonlaw<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ESMA\u2019s new MiCA Q&A on proprietary trading prompts CASPs to review service classification, governance and compliance controls.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/watsonlaw.nl\/en\/esma-mica-qa-proprietary-trading-under-mica\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ESMA Q&A on proprietary trading under MiCA - 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