The EBA consults on draft technical standards on the procedure for the approval of white papers of asset-reference tokens issued by credit institutions under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published a Consultation Paper on draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the procedure for the approval of white papers of asset-reference tokens (ARTs) issued by credit institutions. These draft RTS aim at harmonising the approval procedure across the European Union by laying down the steps and timeframes to be followed by credit institutions and by the relevant competent authority. The consultation runs until 22 January 2024.

The draft RTS propose steps and timeframes that credit institutions, competent authorities and the ECB or other central banks must follow during the procedure for the approval of a crypto-asset white paper. To ensure consistency, these RTS set out a structure that is similar to the process regulated under Article 17(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCAR) for the notification of other information by credit institutions that aim to issue ARTs.

In particular, the elements covered in these RTS are (a) the submission of an application for approval of a white paper, (b) the acknowledgment of receipt and processing of an application by the competent authority, (c) the assessment of completeness of a white paper and request of missing information by the competent authority, (d) the information exchange between the competent authority and the ECB or other central bank, where applicable, (e) the substantive assessment and request of changes by the competent authority, and (f) the approval of the white paper.

This publication together with the other consultations papers published today form a second batch of MiCAR policy products. The EBA expects to publish a third batch in November 2023.

Consultation process

Comments to the consultation paper can be sent by clicking on the "send your comments" button on the EBA's consultation page. The deadline for the submission of comments is 22 January 2024. 

The EBA will hold a virtual public hearing on the consultation paper on 11 January from 14:30 to 16:00 CEST. The EBA invites interested stakeholders to register using this link by 9 January 2024 at 16:00 CEST. The dial-in details will be communicated to those who have registered for the meeting.

All contributions received will be published following the end of the consultation, unless requested otherwise. 

Legal basis

The EBA has developed these draft RTS in accordance with Article 17(8) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCAR) and in close cooperation with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Central Bank (ECB), which mandates the Authority to specify the procedure for approval of white papers of ARTs issued by credit institutions as well as the procedure for the approval of a crypto-asset white paper for an ART issued by a credit institution.

Background

Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on Markets in Crypto-assets establishes a regime for the regulation and supervision of crypto-asset issuance and crypto-asset service provision in the European Union (EU). It came into force on 29 June 2023, and the provisions relating to ARTs will be applicable from 30 June 2024.

Among the activities within the scope of MiCAR are the activities of offering to the public or seeking admission to trading of ARTs and electronic money tokens (EMTs) and issuing such tokens. Supervision tasks are conferred on the EBA for ARTs and EMTs that are determined by the EBA to be significant. Additionally, the EBA is mandated to develop 17 technical standards and guidelines under MiCAR to further specify the requirements for ARTs and EMTs, and an additional 3 mandates jointly with ESMA (and, in one case, also with EIOPA).