ESMA chair announces MiCA transition from regulation development to oversight phase
Crypto asset service provider operational resilience, outsourcing practices, and reverse solicitation will be key priorities for ESMA as it works toward unified reporting standards among national supervisory bodies.
Coordination of national cryptocurrency supervision by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in 2027 will prioritize operational resilience, outsourcing practices, and ensuring firms maintain adequate operations within the European Union as the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) implementation continues to deepen.
During Monday's session, ESMA Chair Verena Ross announced that the authority's MiCA-related efforts have transitioned "from rulemaking towards supervision and convergence."
"We want innovation to flourish within a framework that provides clarity for firms, safeguards for investors and confidence in the markets," Ross said during a meeting of the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.
The priorities were outlined in ESMA's 2027 work program, which was released on Monday. The authority aims to enhance coordination mechanisms among national supervisory bodies overseeing crypto asset service providers (CASPs), placing emphasis on operational resilience, outsourcing-related risks, liquidity concerns, reverse solicitation practices, and the classification of digital assets.
Furthermore, ESMA seeks to standardize the periodic reporting requirements for CASPs across national regulatory authorities and encourage the adoption of uniform risk indicators and supervisory monitoring dashboards. The authority plans to further develop MIDAS, its centralized surveillance platform for crypto markets designed to detect potential market manipulation activities under MiCA provisions.
The authority anticipates that the initial phase of the system will achieve full operational status in 2027. Following ESMA's February announcement regarding plans for a second developmental phase, Monday's work program indicated the addition of enhanced analytical capabilities and an expansion of accessible data categories, with deployment planned for the fourth quarter pending board authorization.
Additionally, ESMA intends to incorporate its supervisory insights into the European Commission's comprehensive MiCA review, which is anticipated by June 2027, while also preparing for potential legislative proposals that could emerge from that evaluation.