MiCA regulation

Other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, however, fall outside of the scope of Union legislative acts on financial services. At present, there are no rules, other than those in respect of anti-money laundering, for the provision of services related to such unregulated crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, including for the operation of trading platforms for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, the exchange of crypto-assets for fundsmeans the conclusion of purchase or sale contracts concerning crypto-assets with clients for funds by using proprietary capital; or other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, and providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clientsmeans the safekeeping or controlling, on behalf of clients, of crypto-assets or of the means of access to such crypto-assets, where applicable in the form of private cryptographic keys;. The absence of such rules leaves holders of those crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; exposed to risks, in particular in fields not covered by consumer protection rules. The absence of such rules can also result in substantial risks to market integrity, including in terms of market abuse as well as in terms of financial crime. To address those risks, some Member States have put in place specific rules for all, or a subset of, crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that fall outside the scope of Union legislative acts on financial services, and other Member States are considering whether to legislate in the field of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;.

The absence of an overall Union framework for markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; can lead to a lack of user confidence in those assets, which could significantly hinder the development of a market in those assets and lead to missed opportunities in terms of innovative digital services, alternative payment instruments or new funding sources for Union companies. In addition, companies using crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; would have no legal certainty on how their crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; would be treated in the various Member States, which would undermine their efforts to use crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; for digital innovation. The lack of an overall Union framework for markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; could also lead to regulatory fragmentation, which would distort competition in the internal market, make it more difficult for crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; to scale up their activities on a cross-border basis and would give rise to regulatory arbitrage. Markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; are still modest in size and do not at present pose a threat to financial stability. It is, however, possible that types of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that aim to stabilise their price in relation to a specific asset or a basket of assets could in the future be widely adopted by retail holdersmeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession;, and such a development could raise additional challenges in terms of financial stability, the smooth operation of payment systems, monetary policy transmission or monetary sovereignty.

A dedicated and harmonised framework for markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; is therefore necessary at Union level in order to provide specific rules for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and related services and activities that are not yet covered by Union legislative acts on financial services. Such a framework should support innovation and fair competition, while ensuring a high level of protection of retail holdersmeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession; and the integrity of markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. A clear framework should enable crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; to scale up their businesses on a cross-border basis and facilitate their access to banking services to enable them to run their activities smoothly. A Union framework for markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should provide for the proportionate treatment of issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;, thereby giving rise to equal opportunities in respect of market entry and the ongoing and future development of markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. It should also promote financial stability and the smooth operation of payment systems, and address monetary policy risks that could arise from crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that aim to stabilise their price in relation to a specific asset or basket of assets. Proper regulation maintains the competitiveness of the Member States on international financial and technological markets and provides clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; with significant benefits in terms of access to cheaper, faster and safer financial services and asset management. The Union framework for markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should not regulate the underlying technology. Union legislative acts should avoid imposing an unnecessary and disproportionate regulatory burden on the use of technology, since the Union and the Member States seek to maintain competitiveness on a global market.

The consensus mechanismsmeans the rules and procedures by which an agreement is reached, among DLT network nodes, that a transaction is validated; used for the validation of transactions in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; might have principal adverse impacts on the climate and other environment-related adverse impacts. Such consensus mechanismsmeans the rules and procedures by which an agreement is reached, among DLT network nodes, that a transaction is validated; should therefore deploy more environmentally-friendly solutions and ensure that any principal adverse impact that they might have on the climate, and any other environment-related adverse impact, are adequately identified and disclosed by issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;. When determining whether adverse impacts are principal, account should be taken of the principle of proportionality and the size and volume of the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; issued. The European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority) (ESMA) established by Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council(⁵)Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/77/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 84)., in cooperation with the European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority) (EBA) established by Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council(⁶)Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/78/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 12)., should therefore be mandated to develop draft regulatory technical standards to further specify the content, methodologies and presentation of information in relation to sustainability indicators with regard to adverse impacts on climate and other environment‐related adverse impacts, and to outline key energy indicators. The draft regulatory technical standards should also ensure coherence of disclosures by issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and by crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;. When developing the draft regulatory technical standards, ESMA should take into account the various types of consensus mechanismsmeans the rules and procedures by which an agreement is reached, among DLT network nodes, that a transaction is validated; used for the validation of transactions in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, their characteristics and the differences between them. ESMA should also take into account existing disclosure requirements, ensure complementarity and consistency, and avoid increasing the burden on companies.

Markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; are global and thus inherently cross-border. Therefore, the Union should continue to support international efforts to promote convergence in the treatment of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; through international organisations or bodies such as the Financial Stability Board, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Financial Action Task Force.

Union legislative acts on financial services should be guided by the principles of ‘same activities, same risks, same rules’ and of technology neutrality. Therefore, crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that fall under existing Union legislative acts on financial services should remain regulated under the existing regulatory framework, regardless of the technology used for their issuance or their transfer, rather than this Regulation. Accordingly, this Regulation expressly excludes from its scope crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that qualify as financial instrumentsmeans financial instruments as defined in Article 4(1), point (15), of Directive 2014/65/EU; as defined in Directive 2014/65/EU, those that qualify as depositsmeans a deposit as defined in Article 2(1), point (3), of Directive 2014/49/EU; as defined in Directive 2014/49/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(⁷)Directive 2014/49/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on deposit guarantee schemes (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 149)., including structured depositsmeans a structured deposit as defined in Article 4(1), point (43), of Directive 2014/65/EU.The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 139 to supplement this Regulation by further specifying technical elements of the definitions laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article, and to adjust those definitions to market developments and technological developments. as defined in Directive 2014/65/EU, those that qualify as fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; as defined in Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council(⁸)Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35)., except if they qualify as electronic money tokensor ‘e-money token’ means a type of crypto-asset that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing the value of one official currency; (‘e-money tokens’), those that qualify as securitisation positions as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 of the European Parliament and of the Council(⁹)Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 laying down a general framework for securitisation and creating a specific framework for simple, transparent and standardised securitisation, and amending Directives 2009/65/EC, 2009/138/EC and 2011/61/EU and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 347, 28.12.2017, p. 35)., and those that qualify as non-life or life insurance contracts, pension products or schemes and social security schemes. Having regard to the fact that electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC; and fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; received in exchange for electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC; should not be treated as depositsmeans a deposit as defined in Article 2(1), point (3), of Directive 2014/49/EU; in accordance with Directive 2009/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(¹⁰)Directive 2009/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions amending Directives 2005/60/EC and 2006/48/EC and repealing Directive 2000/46/EC (OJ L 267, 10.10.2009, p. 7)., e-money tokens cannot be treated as depositsmeans a deposit as defined in Article 2(1), point (3), of Directive 2014/49/EU; that are excluded from the scope of this Regulation.

This Regulation should not apply to crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that are unique and not fungible with other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, including digital art and collectibles. The value of such unique and non-fungible crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; is attributable to each crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;’s unique characteristics and the utility it gives to the holder of the token. Nor should this Regulation apply to crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; representing services or physical assets that are unique and non-fungible, such as product guarantees or real estate. While unique and non-fungible crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; might be traded on the marketplace and be accumulated speculatively, they are not readily interchangeable and the relative value of one such crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; in relation to another, each being unique, cannot be ascertained by means of comparison to an existing market or equivalent asset. Such features limit the extent to which those crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; can have a financial use, thus limiting risks to holders and the financial system and justifying their exclusion from the scope of this Regulation.

The fractional parts of a unique and non-fungible crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should not be considered unique and non-fungible. The issuance of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; as non-fungible tokens in a large series or collection should be considered an indicator of their fungibility. The mere attribution of a unique identifier to a crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; is not, in and of itself, sufficient to classify it as unique and non-fungible. The assets or rights represented should also be unique and non-fungible in order for the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; to be considered unique and non-fungible. The exclusion of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that are unique and non-fungible from the scope of this Regulation is without prejudice to the qualification of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; as financial instrumentsmeans financial instruments as defined in Article 4(1), point (15), of Directive 2014/65/EU;. This Regulation should also apply to crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that appear to be unique and non-fungible, but whose de facto features or whose features that are linked to their de facto uses, would make them either fungible or not unique. In that regard, when assessing and classifying crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should adopt a substance over form approach whereby the features of the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; in question determine the classification and not its designation by the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;.

It is appropriate to exclude certain intragroup transactions and some public entities from the scope of this Regulation as they do not pose risks to investor protection, market integrity, financial stability, the smooth operation of payment systems, monetary policy transmission or monetary sovereignty. Public international organisations that are exempt include the International Monetary Fund and the Bank for International Settlements.

Digital assets issued by central banks acting in their monetary authority capacity, including central bank money in digital form, or crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; issued by other public authorities, including central, regional and local administrations, should not be subject to the Union framework for markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. Nor should related services provided by such central banks when acting in their monetary authority capacity or other public authorities be subject to that Union framework.

For the purposes of ensuring a clear delineation between, on the one hand, crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; covered by this Regulation and, on the other hand, financial instrumentsmeans financial instruments as defined in Article 4(1), point (15), of Directive 2014/65/EU;, ESMA should be mandated to issue guidelines on the criteria and conditions for the qualification of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; as financial instrumentsmeans financial instruments as defined in Article 4(1), point (15), of Directive 2014/65/EU;. Those guidelines should also allow for a better understanding of the cases where crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that are otherwise considered unique and not fungible with other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; might qualify as financial instrumentsmeans financial instruments as defined in Article 4(1), point (15), of Directive 2014/65/EU;. In order to promote a common approach towards the classification of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, EBA, ESMA and the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) (EIOPA), established by Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council(¹¹)Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/79/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 48). (the ‘European Supervisory Authorities’ or ‘ESAs’) should promote discussions on such classification. Competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should be able to request opinions from the ESAs on the classification of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, including classifications proposed by offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; or persons seeking admission to trading. Offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; or persons seeking admission to trading are primarily responsible for the correct classification of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, which might be challenged by the competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;, both before the date of publication of the offer and at any time thereafter. Where the classification of a crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; appears to be inconsistent with this Regulation or other relevant Union legislative acts on financial services, the ESAs should make use of their powers under Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010, (EU) No 1094/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010 in order to ensure a consistent and coherent approach to such classification.

Pursuant to Article 127(2), fourth indent, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), one of the basic tasks to be carried out through the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) is to promote the smooth operation of payment systems. The European Central Bank (ECB) may, pursuant to Article 22 of Protocol No 4 on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank attached to the Treaties, make regulations to ensure efficient and sound clearing and payment systems within the Union and with other countries. To that end, the ECB has adopted regulations concerning requirements for systemically important payment systems. This Regulation is without prejudice to the responsibilities of the ECB and the national central banks in the ESCB to ensure efficient and sound clearing and payment systems within the Union and with third countries. Consequently, and in order to prevent the possible creation of parallel sets of rules, EBA, ESMA and the ECB should cooperate closely when preparing the relevant draft technical standards under this Regulation. Furthermore, it is crucial for the ECB and the national central banks to have access to information when fulfilling their tasks relating to the oversight of payment systems, including clearing of payments. In addition, this Regulation should be without prejudice to Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013(¹²)Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 of 15 October 2013 conferring specific tasks on the European Central Bank concerning policies relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions (OJ L 287, 29.10.2013, p. 63). and should be interpreted in such a way that it is not in conflict with that Regulation.

Any legislative act adopted in the field of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should be specific and future-proof, be able to keep pace with innovation and technological developments and be founded on an incentive-based approach. The terms ‘crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;’ and ‘distributed ledger technologyor ‘DLT’ means a technology that enables the operation and use of distributed ledgers;’ should therefore be defined as widely as possible to capture all types of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that currently fall outside the scope of Union legislative acts on financial services. Any legislative act adopted in the field of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should also contribute to the objective of combating money laundering and terrorist financing. For that reason, entities offering services falling within the scope of this Regulation should also comply with applicable anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing rules of the Union, which integrate international standards.

Digital assets that cannot be transferred to other holders do not fall within the definition of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. Therefore, digital assets that are accepted only by the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; or the offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; and that are technically impossible to transfer directly to other holders should be excluded from the scope of this Regulation. An example of such digital assets includes loyalty schemes where the loyalty points can be exchanged for benefits only with the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; or offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; of those points.

This Regulation classifies crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; into three types, which should be distinguished from one another and subject to different requirements depending on the risks they entail. The classification is based on whether the crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; seek to stabilise their value by reference to other assets. The first type consists of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that aim to stabilise their value by referencing only one official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority;. The function of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; is very similar to the function of electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC; as defined in Directive 2009/110/EC. Like electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC;, such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; are electronic surrogates for coins and banknotes and are likely to be used for making payments. Those crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should be defined in this Regulation as ‘e-money tokens’. The second type of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; concerns ‘asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;’, which aim to stabilise their value by referencing another value or right, or combination thereof, including one or several official currenciesmeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority;. That second type covers all other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, other than e-money tokens, whose value is backed by assets, so as to avoid circumvention and to make this Regulation future-proof. Finally, the third type consists of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and e-money tokens, and covers a wide variety of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, including utility tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is only intended to provide access to a good or a service supplied by its issuer;.

At present, despite their similarities, electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC; and crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; referencing an official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority; differ in some important aspects. Holders of electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC; as defined in Directive 2009/110/EC are always provided with a claim against the electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC; issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; and have a contractual right to redeem, at any moment and at par value, the monetary value of the electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC; held. By contrast, some crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; referencing an official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority; do not provide their holders with such a claim against the issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and could fall outside the scope of Directive 2009/110/EC. Other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; referencing an official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority; do not provide a claim at par value with the currency they are referencing or they limit the redemption period. The fact that holders of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; do not have a claim against the issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, or that such claim is not at par value with the currency those crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; are referencing, could undermine the confidence of holders of those crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. Accordingly, to avoid circumvention of the rules laid down in Directive 2009/110/EC, any definition of e-money tokens should be as wide as possible to capture all types of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; referencing a single official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority;. In addition, strict conditions on the issuance of e-money tokens should be laid down, including an obligation for e-money tokens to be issued either by a credit institutionmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(¹³)Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on access to the activity of credit institutions and the prudential supervision of credit institutions, amending Directive 2002/87/EC and repealing Directives 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 338)., or by an electronic money institutionmeans an electronic money institution as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive 2009/110/EC; authorised under Directive 2009/110/EC. For the same reason, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of e-money tokens should ensure that holders of such tokens can exercise their right to redeem their tokens at any time and at par value against the currency referencing those tokens. Because e-money tokens are crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and can raise new challenges in terms of protection of retail holdersmeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession; and market integrity that are specific to crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, they should also be subject to the rules laid down in this Regulation to address those challenges.

Given the different risks and opportunities raised by crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, it is necessary to lay down rules for offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; and persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and e-money tokens, as well as for issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and e-money tokens. Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; are entities that have control over the creation of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;.

It is necessary to lay down specific rules for entities that provide services related to crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. A first category of such services consists of ensuring the operation of a trading platform for crypto-assetsmeans the management of one or more multilateral systems, which bring together or facilitate the bringing together of multiple third-party purchasing and selling interests in crypto-assets, in the system and in accordance with its rules, in a way that results in a contract, either by exchanging crypto-assets for funds or by the exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;, exchanging crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; for fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; or other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clientsmeans the safekeeping or controlling, on behalf of clients, of crypto-assets or of the means of access to such crypto-assets, where applicable in the form of private cryptographic keys;, and providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clientsmeans providing services of transfer, on behalf of a natural or legal person, of crypto-assets from one distributed ledger address or account to another;. A second category of such services consists of the placing of crypto-assetsmeans the marketing, on behalf of or for the account of the offeror or a party related to the offeror, of crypto-assets to purchasers;, the reception or transmission of orders for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; on behalf of clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;, the execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clientsmeans the conclusion of agreements, on behalf of clients, to purchase or sell one or more crypto-assets or the subscription on behalf of clients for one or more crypto-assets, and includes the conclusion of contracts to sell crypto-assets at the moment of their offer to the public or admission to trading;, providing advice on crypto-assetsmeans offering, giving or agreeing to give personalised recommendations to a client, either at the client’s request or on the initiative of the crypto-asset service provider providing the advice, in respect of one or more transactions relating to crypto-assets, or the use of crypto-asset services; and providing portfolio management of crypto-assetsmeans managing portfolios in accordance with mandates given by clients on a discretionary client-by-client basis where such portfolios include one or more crypto-assets;. Any person that provides crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; on a professional basis in accordance with this Regulation should be deemed to be a ‘crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;’.

This Regulation should apply to natural and legal persons and certain other undertakings and to the crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; and activities performed, provided or controlled, directly or indirectly, by them, including when part of such activities or services is performed in a decentralised manner. Where crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; are provided in a fully decentralised manner without any intermediary, they should not fall within the scope of this Regulation. This Regulation covers the rights and obligations of issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public;, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;. Where crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; have no identifiable issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;, they should not fall within the scope of Title II, III or IV of this Regulation. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; providing services in respect of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should, however, be covered by this Regulation.

To ensure that all offers to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens, which can potentially have a financial use, or all admissions of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; to trading on a trading platform for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; (‘admission to trading’), in the Union, are properly monitored and supervised by competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;, all offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; or persons seeking admission to trading should be legal persons.

In order to ensure their protection, prospective retail holdersmeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should be informed of the characteristics, functions and risks of the crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that they intend to purchase. When making an offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens or when seeking admission to trading of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; in the Union, offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; or persons seeking admission to trading should draw up, notify to their competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; and publish an information document containing mandatory disclosures (‘a crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper’). A crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper should contain general information on the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;, offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; or person seeking admission to trading, on the project to be carried out with the capital raised, on the offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; or on their admission to trading, on the rights and obligations attached to the crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, on the underlying technology used for such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and on the related risks. However, the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper should not contain a description of risks that are unforeseeable and very unlikely to materialise. The information contained in the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper as well as in the relevant marketing communications, such as advertising messages and marketing material, and including through new channels such as social media platforms, should be fair, clear and not misleading. Advertising messages and marketing material should be consistent with the information provided in the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper.

Crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white papers, including their summaries, and the operating rules of trading platforms for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should be drawn up in at least one of the official languages of the home Member Statemeans:where the offeror or person seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens has its registered office in the Union, the Member State where that offeror or person has its registered office;where the offeror or person seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens has no registered office in the Union but does have one or more branches in the Union, the Member State chosen by that offeror or person from among the Member States where it has branches;where the offeror or person seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens is established in a third country and has no branch in the Union, either the Member State where the crypto-assets are intended to be offered to the public for the first time or, at the choice of the offeror or person seeking admission to trading, the Member State where the first application for admission to trading of those crypto-assets is made;in the case of an issuer of asset-referenced tokens, the Member State where the issuer of asset-referenced tokens has its registered office;in the case of an issuer of e-money tokens, the Member State where the issuer of e-money tokens is authorised as a credit institution under Directive 2013/36/EU or as an electronic money institution under Directive 2009/110/EC;in the case of crypto-asset service providers, the Member State where the crypto-asset service provider has its registered office; and of any host Member Statemeans the Member State where an offeror or person seeking admission to trading has made an offer to the public of crypto-assets or is seeking admission to trading, or where a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services, where different from the home Member State; or, alternatively, in a language customary in the sphere of international finance. At the time of adoption of this Regulation, the English language is the language customary in the sphere of international finance but that could evolve in the future.

In order to ensure a proportionate approach, no requirements of this Regulation should apply to offers to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens that are offered for free or that are automatically created as a reward for the maintenance of a distributed ledgermeans an information repository that keeps records of transactions and that is shared across, and synchronised between, a set of DLT network nodes using a consensus mechanism; or the validation of transactions in the context of a consensus mechanismmeans the rules and procedures by which an agreement is reached, among DLT network nodes, that a transaction is validated;. In addition, no requirements should apply to offers of utility tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is only intended to provide access to a good or a service supplied by its issuer; providing access to an existing good or service, enabling the holder to collect the good or use the service, or when the holder of the crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; has the right to use them only in exchange for goods and services in a limited network of merchants with contractual arrangements with the offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public;. Such exemptions should not include crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; representing stored goods that are not intended to be collected by the purchaser following the purchase. Neither should the limited network exemption apply to crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that are typically designed for a continuously growing network of service providers. The limited network exemption should be evaluated by the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; each time that an offer, or the aggregate value of more than one offer, exceeds a certain threshold, meaning that a new offer should not automatically benefit from an exemption of a previous offer. Those exemptions should cease to apply when the offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public;, or another person acting on the offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public;’s behalf, communicates the offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public;’s intention of seeking admission to trading or the exempted crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; are admitted to trading.

In order to ensure a proportionate approach, the requirements of this Regulation to draw up and publish a crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper should not apply to offers of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens that are made to fewer than 150 persons per Member State, or that are addressed solely to qualified investorsmeans persons or entities that are listed in Section I, points (1) to (4), of Annex II to Directive 2014/65/EU; where the crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; can only be held by such qualified investorsmeans persons or entities that are listed in Section I, points (1) to (4), of Annex II to Directive 2014/65/EU;. SMEs and start-ups should not be subject to excessive and disproportionate administrative burden. Accordingly, offers to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens in the Union whose total consideration does not exceed EUR1 000 000over a period of 12 months should also be exempt from the obligation to draw up a crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper.

The mere admission to trading or the publication of bid and offer prices should not, in and of itself, be regarded as an offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. Such admission or publication should only constitute an offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; where it includes a communication constituting an offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; under this Regulation.

Even though some offers of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens are exempt from various obligations of this Regulation, Union legislative acts that ensure consumer protection, such as Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(¹⁴)Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Unfair Commercial Practices Directive) (OJ L 149, 11.6.2005, p. 22). or Council Directive 93/13/EEC(¹⁵)Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts (OJ L 95, 21.4.1993, p. 29)., including any information obligations contained therein, remain applicable to offers to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; where they concern business-to-consumer relationships.

Where an offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; concerns utility tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is only intended to provide access to a good or a service supplied by its issuer; for goods that do not yet exist or services that are not yet in operation, the duration of the offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; as described in the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper should not exceed 12 months. That limitation on the duration of the offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; is unrelated to the moment when the goods or services come into existence or become operational and can be used by the holder of a utility tokenmeans a type of crypto-asset that is only intended to provide access to a good or a service supplied by its issuer; after the expiry of the offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets;.

In order to enable supervision, offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; and persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens should, before making any offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; in the Union or before those crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; are admitted to trading, notify their crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper and, upon request of the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;, their marketing communications, to the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the Member State where they have their registered office or, where they have no registered office in the Union, of the Member State where they have a branch. Offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; that are established in a third country should notify their crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper and, upon request of the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;, their marketing communications, to the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the Member State where they intend to offer the crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;.

The operator of a trading platform should be responsible for complying with the requirements of Title II of this Regulation where crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; are admitted to trading on its own initiative and the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper has not already been published in the cases required by this Regulation. The operator of a trading platform should also be responsible for complying with those requirements where it has concluded a written agreement to that end with the person seeking admission to trading. The person seeking admission to trading should remain responsible when it provides misleading information to the operator of the trading platform. The person seeking admission to trading should also remain responsible for matters not delegated to the operator of the trading platform.

In order to avoid undue administrative burden, competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should not be required to approve a crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper before its publication. Competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should, however, have the power to request amendments to the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper and to any marketing communications and, where necessary, to request the inclusion of additional information in the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper.

Competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should be able to suspend or prohibit an offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens, or the admission of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; to trading, where such an offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; or admission to trading does not comply with the applicable requirements of this Regulation, including where the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper or the marketing communications are not fair, not clear or are misleading. Competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should also have the power to publish a warning that the offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; or person seeking admission to trading has failed to meet those requirements, either on its website or through a press release.

Crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white papers that have been duly notified to a competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; and marketing communications should be published. After such publication, offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; and persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens should be allowed to offer those crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; throughout the Union and to seek admission to trading of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; in the Union.

Offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens should have effective arrangements in place to monitor and safeguard the fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; or other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; raised during their offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets;. Those arrangements should also ensure that any fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; or other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; collected from holders or prospective holders are duly returned as soon as possible where an offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; is cancelled for any reason. The offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; should ensure that the fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; or other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; collected during the offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; are safeguarded by a third party.

In order to further ensure protection of retail holdersmeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, retail holdersmeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession; that acquire crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens directly from the offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public;, or from a crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; placing the crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; on behalf of the offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public;, should be provided with a right of withdrawal during a period of 14 days after their acquisition. In order to ensure the smooth completion of a time-limited offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, the right of withdrawal should not be exercised by retail holdersmeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession; after the end of the subscription period. Furthermore, the right of withdrawal should not apply where crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens are admitted to trading prior to the purchase by the retail holdermeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession; because, in such a case, the price of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; depends on the fluctuations of the markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. Where the retail holdermeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession; has a right of withdrawal under this Regulation, the right of withdrawal under Directive 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(¹⁶)Directive 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002 concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services and amending Council Directive 90/619/EEC and Directives 97/7/EC and 98/27/EC (OJ L 271, 9.10.2002, p. 16). should not apply.

Offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; and persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens should act honestly, fairly and professionally, should communicate with holders and prospective holders of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; in a manner that is fair, clear and not misleading, should identify, prevent, manage and disclose conflicts of interest, and should have effective administrative arrangements to ensure that their systems and security protocols meet Union standards. In order to assist competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; in their supervisory tasks, ESMA, in close cooperation with EBA, should be mandated to issue guidelines on those systems and security protocols in order to further specify those Union standards.

To further protect holders of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, civil liability rules should apply to offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; and persons seeking admission to trading and to the members of their management bodymeans the body or bodies of an issuer, offeror or person seeking admission to trading, or of a crypto-asset service provider, which are appointed in accordance with national law, which are empowered to set the entity’s strategy, objectives and overall direction, and which oversee and monitor management decision-making in the entity and include the persons who effectively direct the business of the entity; for the information provided to the public in the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper.

Asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; could be widely adopted by holders to transfer value or as a means of exchange and thus pose increased risks in terms of protection of holders of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, in particular retail holdersmeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession;, and in terms of market integrity, as compared to other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should therefore be subject to more stringent requirements than issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;.

Where a crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; falls within the definition of an asset-referenced tokenmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money token, Title III or IV of this Regulation should apply, irrespective of how the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; intends to design the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, including the mechanism for maintaining a stable value of the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. The same applies to so-called algorithmic ‘stablecoins’ that aim to maintain a stable value in relation to an official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority;, or in relation to one or several assets, via protocols, that provide for the increase or decrease in the supply of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; in response to changes in demand. Offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; or persons seeking admission to trading of algorithmic crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that do not aim to stabilise the value of the crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; by referencing one or several assets should in any event comply with Title II of this Regulation.

To ensure the proper supervision and monitoring of offers to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should have a registered office in the Union.

Offers to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; in the Union or seeking admission to trading of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should be permitted only where the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; has authorised the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; to do so and has approved the relevant crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper. The authorisation requirement should however not apply where the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; are addressed solely to qualified investorsmeans persons or entities that are listed in Section I, points (1) to (4), of Annex II to Directive 2014/65/EU; or where the offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; is below EUR5 000 000. In those cases, the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should still be required to draw up a crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper to inform buyers about the characteristics and risks of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and should also be required to notify the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper to the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; before its publication.

Credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU should not need another authorisation under this Regulation in order to offer or seek the admission to trading of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;. National procedures established under that Directive should apply but should be complemented by a requirement to notify the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the home Member Statemeans:where the offeror or person seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens has its registered office in the Union, the Member State where that offeror or person has its registered office;where the offeror or person seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens has no registered office in the Union but does have one or more branches in the Union, the Member State chosen by that offeror or person from among the Member States where it has branches;where the offeror or person seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens is established in a third country and has no branch in the Union, either the Member State where the crypto-assets are intended to be offered to the public for the first time or, at the choice of the offeror or person seeking admission to trading, the Member State where the first application for admission to trading of those crypto-assets is made;in the case of an issuer of asset-referenced tokens, the Member State where the issuer of asset-referenced tokens has its registered office;in the case of an issuer of e-money tokens, the Member State where the issuer of e-money tokens is authorised as a credit institution under Directive 2013/36/EU or as an electronic money institution under Directive 2009/110/EC;in the case of crypto-asset service providers, the Member State where the crypto-asset service provider has its registered office; designated under this Regulation of the elements that enable that authority to verify the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;’s ability to offer or seek the admission to trading of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;. Credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; that offer or seek the admission to trading of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should be subject to all requirements that apply to issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; with the exception of authorisation requirements, own fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; requirements and the approval procedure with respect to qualifying shareholders, as those matters are covered by Directive 2013/36/EU and by Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(¹⁷)Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 1).. A crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper drawn up by such credit institutionmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; should be approved by the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the home Member Statemeans:where the offeror or person seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens has its registered office in the Union, the Member State where that offeror or person has its registered office;where the offeror or person seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens has no registered office in the Union but does have one or more branches in the Union, the Member State chosen by that offeror or person from among the Member States where it has branches;where the offeror or person seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens is established in a third country and has no branch in the Union, either the Member State where the crypto-assets are intended to be offered to the public for the first time or, at the choice of the offeror or person seeking admission to trading, the Member State where the first application for admission to trading of those crypto-assets is made;in the case of an issuer of asset-referenced tokens, the Member State where the issuer of asset-referenced tokens has its registered office;in the case of an issuer of e-money tokens, the Member State where the issuer of e-money tokens is authorised as a credit institution under Directive 2013/36/EU or as an electronic money institution under Directive 2009/110/EC;in the case of crypto-asset service providers, the Member State where the crypto-asset service provider has its registered office; before publication. Credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; authorised under the provisions of national law transposing Directive 2013/36/EU and which offer or seek the admission to trading of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should be subject to the administrative powers set out under that Directive and also those under this Regulation, including a restriction or limitation of a credit institutionmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU;’s business and a suspension or prohibition of an offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;. Where the obligations applying to such credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; under this Regulation overlap with those of Directive 2013/36/EU, the credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; should comply with the more specific or stricter requirements, thereby ensuring compliance with both sets of rules. The notification procedure for credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; intending to offer or seek the admission to trading of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; under this Regulation should be without prejudice to the provisions of national law transposing Directive 2013/36/EU that set out procedures for the authorisation of credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; to provide the services listed in Annex I to that Directive.

A competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should refuse authorisation on objective and demonstrable grounds, including where the business model of the applicant issuermeans an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens who applies for authorisation to offer to the public or seeks the admission to trading of those crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; might pose a serious threat to market integrity, financial stability or the smooth operation of payment systems. The competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should consult EBA, ESMA, the ECB and, where the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; is established in a Member State whose official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority; is not the euro or where an official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority; of a Member State that is not the euro is referenced by the asset-referenced tokenmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, the central bank of that Member State before granting or refusing an authorisation. Non-binding opinions of EBA and ESMA should address the classification of the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, while the ECB and, where applicable, the central bank of the Member State concerned should provide the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; with an opinion on the risks to financial stability, the smooth operation of payment systems, monetary policy transmission or monetary sovereignty. The competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should refuse authorisation in cases where the ECB or the central bank of a Member State gives a negative opinion on the grounds of a risk posed to the smooth operation of payment systems, monetary policy transmission, or monetary sovereignty. Where authorisation is granted to an applicant issuermeans an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens who applies for authorisation to offer to the public or seeks the admission to trading of those crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper drawn up by that issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; should also be deemed approved. The authorisation by the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should be valid throughout the Union and should allow the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; to offer those crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; on the internal market and to seek an admission to trading. In the same way, the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper should also be valid for the entire Union, without any possibility for Member States to impose additional requirements.

In several cases where the ECB is consulted under this Regulation, its opinion should be binding insofar as it obliges a competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; to refuse, withdraw or limit an authorisation of the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or to impose specific measures on the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;. Article 263, first paragraph, TFEU provides that the Court of Justice of the European Union (the ‘Court of Justice’) should review the legality of acts of the ECB other than recommendations or opinions. It should be recalled, however, that it is for the Court of Justice to interpret that provision in light of the substance and effects of an opinion of the ECB.

To ensure protection of retail holdersmeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession;, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should always provide holders of such tokens with information that is complete, fair, clear and not misleading. Crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white papers for asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should include information on the stabilisation mechanism, on the investment policy of the reserve assets, on the custody arrangements for the reserve assets and on the rights provided to holders.

In addition to the information provided in the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should also provide holders of such tokens with information on an ongoing basis. In particular, they should disclose on their website the amount of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; in circulation and the value and composition of the reserve assets. Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should also disclose any event that has or is likely to have a significant impact on the value of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or on the reserve assets, irrespective of whether such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; are admitted to trading.

To ensure protection of retail holdersmeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession;, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should always act honestly, fairly and professionally and in the best interests of the holders of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;. Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should also put in place a clear procedure for handling complaints received from holders of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;.

Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should put in place a policy to identify, prevent, manage and disclose conflicts of interest that can arise from their relationships with their shareholders or members, or with any shareholder or member, whether direct or indirect, that has a qualifying holdingmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; in the issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;, or with the members of their management bodymeans the body or bodies of an issuer, offeror or person seeking admission to trading, or of a crypto-asset service provider, which are appointed in accordance with national law, which are empowered to set the entity’s strategy, objectives and overall direction, and which oversee and monitor management decision-making in the entity and include the persons who effectively direct the business of the entity;, their employees, holders of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or third-party service providers.

Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should have robust governance arrangements, including a clear organisational structure with well-defined, transparent and consistent lines of responsibility and effective processes to identify, manage, monitor and report the risks to which they are or to which they might be exposed. The members of the management bodymeans the body or bodies of an issuer, offeror or person seeking admission to trading, or of a crypto-asset service provider, which are appointed in accordance with national law, which are empowered to set the entity’s strategy, objectives and overall direction, and which oversee and monitor management decision-making in the entity and include the persons who effectively direct the business of the entity; of such issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; should be fit and proper and should, in particular, not have been convicted of any offence in the field of money laundering or terrorist financing or of any other offence that would affect their good repute. The shareholders or members, whether direct or indirect, natural or legal persons, that have qualifying holdingsmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; in such issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;, should be of sufficiently good repute and should, in particular, not have been convicted of any offence in the field of money laundering or terrorist financing or of any other offence that would affect their good repute. Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should also employ resources proportionate to the scale of their activities and should always ensure continuity and regularity in the performance of their activities. For that purpose, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should establish a business continuity policy that aims to ensure, in the case of an interruption to their systems and procedures, the performance of their core activities related to the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;. Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should also have strong internal control mechanisms and effective procedures for risk management, as well as a system that guarantees the integrity and confidentiality of information received. Those obligations aim to ensure the protection of holders of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, in particular retail holdersmeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession;, while not creating unnecessary barriers.

Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; are usually at the centre of a network of entities that ensure the issuance of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, their transfer and their distribution to holders. Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should therefore be required to establish and maintain appropriate contractual arrangements with third-party entities for ensuring the stabilisation mechanism and the investment of the reserve assets backing the value of the tokens, the custody of such reserve assets and, where applicable, the distribution of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; to the public.

To address the risks to the financial stability of the wider financial system, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should be subject to own fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; requirements. Those requirements should be proportionate to the issuance size of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and therefore calculated as a percentage of the reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer; that back the value of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;. Competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should however be able to increase the amount of own fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; required based on, inter alia, the evaluation of the risk-management process and internal control mechanisms of the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;, the quality and volatility of the reserve assets backing the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, or the aggregate value and number of transactions settled in asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;.

In order to cover their liability against holders of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should constitute and maintain a reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer; matching the risks reflected in such liability. The reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer; should be used for the benefit of the holders of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; when the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; is not able to fulfil its obligations towards the holders, such as in insolvency. The reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer; should be composed and managed in such a way that market and currency risks are covered. Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should ensure the prudent management of the reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer; and should, in particular, ensure that the value of the reserve amounts at least to the corresponding value of tokens in circulation and that changes in the reserve are adequately managed to avoid adverse impacts on the markets of the reserve assets. Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should therefore have clear and detailed policies that describe, inter alia, the composition of the reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer;, the allocation of assets included therein, a comprehensive assessment of the risks raised by the reserve assets, the procedure for the issuance and redemption of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, the procedure to increase and decrease the reserve assets and, where the reserve assets are invested, the investment policy that is followed by the issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;. Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; that are marketed both in the Union and in third countries should ensure that their reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer; is available to cover the issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;’ liability towards Union holders. The requirement to hold the reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer; with firms subject to Union law should therefore apply in proportion to the share of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; that is expected to be marketed in the Union.

To prevent the risk of loss for asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and to preserve the value of those assets, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should have an adequate custody policy for their reserve assets. That policy should ensure that the reserve assets are fully segregated from the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;’s own assets at all times, that the reserve assets are not encumbered or pledged as collateral, and that the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; has prompt access to those reserve assets. The reserve assets should, depending on their nature, be held in custody by a crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;, by a credit institutionmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU or by an investment firmmeans an investment firm as defined in Article 4(1), point (2), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2014/65/EU; authorised under Directive 2014/65/EU. That should not exclude the possibility of delegating the holding of the physical assets to another entity. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;, credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; or investment firmsmeans an investment firm as defined in Article 4(1), point (2), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2014/65/EU; that act as custodians of reserve assets should be responsible for the loss of such reserve assets vis-à-vis the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; or the holders of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, unless they prove that such loss has arisen as a result of an external event beyond their reasonable control. Concentrations of the custodians of reserve assets should be avoided. However, in certain situations, that might not be possible due to a lack of suitable alternatives. In such cases, a temporary concentration should be deemed acceptable.

To protect holders of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; against a decrease in value of the assets backing the value of the tokens, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should only invest the reserve assets in secure, low-risk assets with minimal market, concentration and credit risk. As the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; could be used as a means of exchange, all profits or losses resulting from the investment of the reserve assets should be borne by the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;.

Holders of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should have a permanent right of redemption so that the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; is required to redeem the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; at any time, upon request by the holders of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;. The issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should redeem either by paying an amount in fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366;, other than electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC;, equivalent to the market value of the assets referenced by the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, or by delivering the assets referenced by the tokens. The issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should always provide the holder with the option of redeeming the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; in fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; other than electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC; denominated in the same official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority; that the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; accepted when selling the tokens. The issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; should provide sufficiently detailed and easily understandable information on the different forms of redemption available.

To reduce the risk that asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; are used as a store of value, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;, when providing crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; related to asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, should not grant interest to holders of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; related to the length of time during which such holders are holding those asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;.

Asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and e-money tokens should be deemed significant when they meet, or are likely to meet, certain criteria, including a large customer base, a high market capitalisation, or a large number of transactions. As such, they could be used by a large number of holders and their use could raise specific challenges in terms of financial stability, monetary policy transmission or monetary sovereignty. Those significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and e-money tokens should, therefore, be subject to more stringent requirements than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens that are not deemed significant. In particular, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should be subject to higher capital requirements, to interoperability requirements and they should establish a liquidity management policy. The appropriateness of the thresholds to classify an asset-referenced tokenmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money token as significant should be reviewed by the Commission as part of its review of the application of this Regulation. That review should, where appropriate, be accompanied by a legislative proposal.

A comprehensive monitoring of the entire ecosystem of issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; is important in order to determine the true size and impact of such tokens. To capture all transactions that are conducted in relation to any given asset-referenced tokenmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, the monitoring of such tokens therefore includes the monitoring of all transactions that are settled, whether they are settled on the distributed ledgermeans an information repository that keeps records of transactions and that is shared across, and synchronised between, a set of DLT network nodes using a consensus mechanism; (‘on-chain’) or outside the distributed ledgermeans an information repository that keeps records of transactions and that is shared across, and synchronised between, a set of DLT network nodes using a consensus mechanism; (‘off-chain’), and including transactions between clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; of the same crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;.

It is particularly important to estimate transactions settled with asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; associated to uses as a means of exchange within a single currency area, namely, those associated to payments of debts including in the context of transactions with merchants. Those transactions should not include transactions associated with investment functions and services, such as a means of exchange for fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; or other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, unless there is evidence that the asset-referenced tokenmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; is used for settlement of transactions in other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. A use for settlement of transactions in other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; would be present in cases where a transaction involving two legs of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, which are different from the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, is settled in the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;. Moreover, where asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; are used widely as a means of exchange within a single currency area, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; should be required to reduce the level of activity. An asset-referenced tokenmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should be considered to be used widely as a means of exchange when the average number and average aggregate value of transactions per day associated to uses as a means of exchange within a single currency area is higher than 1 million transactions and EUR200 000 000respectively.

Where asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; pose a serious threat to the smooth operation of payment systems, monetary policy transmission or monetary sovereignty, central banks should be able to request the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; to withdraw the authorisation of the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of those asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;. Where asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; pose a threat to the smooth operation of payment systems, monetary policy transmission or monetary sovereignty, central banks should be able to request the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; to limit the amount of those asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; to be issued, or to impose a minimum denomination amount.

This Regulation is without prejudice to national law regulating the use of domestic and foreign currencies in operations between residents, adopted by non-euro area Member States in exercising their prerogative of monetary sovereignty.

Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should prepare a recovery plan providing for measures to be taken by the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; to restore compliance with the requirements applicable to the reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer;, including in cases where the fulfilment of requests for redemption creates temporary unbalances in the reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer;. The competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should have the power to temporarily suspend the redemption of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; in order to protect the interests of the holders of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and financial stability.

Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should have a plan for the orderly redemption of the tokens to ensure that the rights of the holders of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; are protected where the issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; are not able to comply with their obligations, including in the event of discontinuation of issuing of the asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;. Where the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; is a credit institutionmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; or an entity falling within the scope of Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(¹⁸)Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 establishing a framework for the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms and amending Council Directive 82/891/EEC, and Directives 2001/24/EC, 2002/47/EC, 2004/25/EC, 2005/56/EC, 2007/36/EC, 2011/35/EU, 2012/30/EU and 2013/36/EU, and Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010 and (EU) No 648/2012, of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 190)., the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should consult the responsible resolution authority. That resolution authority should be permitted to examine the redemption plan with a view to identifying any elements in it that might adversely affect the resolvability of the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;, the resolution strategy of the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;, or any actions foreseen in the resolution plan of the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;, and make recommendations to the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; with regard to those matters. In doing so, the resolution authority should also be permitted to consider whether any changes are required to the resolution plan or the resolution strategy, in accordance with the provisions of Directive 2014/59/EU and Regulation (EU) No 806/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council(¹⁹)Regulation (EU) No 806/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2014 establishing uniform rules and a uniform procedure for the resolution of credit institutions and certain investment firms in the framework of a Single Resolution Mechanism and a Single Resolution Fund and amending Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 (OJ L 225, 30.7.2014, p. 1)., as applicable. Such examination by the resolution authority should not affect the powers of the prudential supervisory authority or of the resolution authority, as applicable, to take crisis prevention measures or crisis management measures.

Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of e-money tokens should be authorised either as a credit institutionmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; under Directive 2013/36/EU or as an electronic money institutionmeans an electronic money institution as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive 2009/110/EC; under Directive 2009/110/EC. E-money tokens should be deemed to be ‘electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC;’ as that term is defined in Directive 2009/110/EC and their issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; should, unless specified otherwise in this Regulation, comply with the relevant requirements set out in Directive 2009/110/EC for the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutionsmeans an electronic money institution as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive 2009/110/EC; and the requirements on issuance and redeemability of e-money tokens. Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of e-money tokens should draw up a crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper and notify it to their competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;. Exemptions regarding limited networks, regarding certain transactions by providers of electronic communications networks and regarding electronic money institutionsmeans an electronic money institution as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive 2009/110/EC; issuing only a limited maximum amount of electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC;, based on the optional exemptions specified in Directive 2009/110/EC, should also apply to e-money tokens. However, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of e-money tokens should still be required to draw up a crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper in order to inform buyers about the characteristics and risks of the e-money tokens and should also be required to notify the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper to the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; before its publication.

Holders of e-money tokens should be provided with a claim against the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of the e-money tokens. Holders of e-money tokens should always be granted a right of redemption at par value for fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; denominated in the official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority; that the e-money token is referencing. The provisions of Directive 2009/110/EC on the possibility of charging a fee in relation to redemption are not relevant in the context of e-money tokens.

To reduce the risk that e-money tokens are used as store of value, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of e-money tokens and crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; when they provide crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; related to e-money tokens, should not grant interest to holders of e-money tokens, including interest not related to the length of time that such holders hold those e-money tokens.

The crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper drawn up by an issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of e-money tokens should contain all information concerning that issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; and the offer of e-money tokens or their admission to trading that is necessary to enable prospective buyers to make an informed purchase decision and understand the risks relating to the offer of e-money tokens. The crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper should also expressly refer to the right of holders of e-money tokens to redeem their e-money tokens for fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; denominated in the official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority; that the e-money tokens reference at par value and at any time.

Where an issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of e-money tokens invests the fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; received in exchange for e-money tokens, such fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; should be invested in assets denominated in the same official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority; as the one that the e-money token is referencing in order to avoid cross-currency risks.

Significant e-money tokens could pose greater risks to financial stability than e-money tokens that are not significant and traditional electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC;. Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant e-money tokens that are electronic money institutionsmeans an electronic money institution as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive 2009/110/EC; should therefore be subject to additional requirements. Such issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant e-money tokens should in particular be subject to higher capital requirements than issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of other e-money tokens, be subject to interoperability requirements and establish a liquidity management policy. They should also comply with some of the same requirements that apply to issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; with regard to reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer;, such as those on custody and investment of the reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer;. Those requirements for issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant e-money tokens should apply instead of Articles 5 and 7 of Directive 2009/110/EC. As those provisions of Directive 2009/110/EC do not apply to credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; when issuing e-money, neither should the additional requirements for significant e-money tokens under this Regulation.

Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of e-money tokens should have in place recovery and redemption plans to ensure that the rights of the holders of the e-money tokens are protected when issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; are not able to comply with their obligations.

In most Member States, the provision of crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; is not yet regulated despite the potential risks that they pose to investor protection, market integrity and financial stability. To address such risks, this Regulation provides operational, organisational and prudential requirements at Union level applicable to crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;.

In order to enable effective supervision and to eliminate the possibility of evading or circumventing supervision, crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; should only be provided by legal persons that have a registered office in a Member State in which they carry out substantive business activities, including the provision of crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;. Undertakings that are not legal persons, such as commercial partnerships, should under certain conditions also be permitted to provide crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;. It is essential that providers of crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; maintain effective management of their activities in the Union in order to avoid undermining effective prudential supervision and to ensure the enforcement of requirements under this Regulation intended to ensure investor protection, market integrity and financial stability. Regular close direct contact between supervisors and the responsible management of crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should be an essential element of such supervision. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should therefore have their place of effective management in the Union, and at least one of the directors should be resident in the Union. The place of effective management means the place where the key management and commercial decisions that are necessary for the conduct of the business are taken.

This Regulation should not affect the possibility for persons established in the Union to receive crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; by a third-country firm on their own initiative. Where a third-country firm provides crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; on the own initiative of a person established in the Union, the crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; should not be deemed to be provided in the Union. Where a third-country firm solicits clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; or prospective clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; in the Union or promotes or advertises crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; or activities in the Union, its services should not be deemed to be crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; provided on the own initiative of the clientmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;. In such a case, the third-country firm should be authorised as a crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;.

Given the relatively small scale to date of crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;, the power to authorise and supervise such service providers should be conferred upon national competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;. Authorisation as a crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should be granted, refused or withdrawn by the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the Member State where the entity has its registered office. Where an authorisation is granted, it should indicate the crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; for which the crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; is authorised and should be valid for the entire Union.

In order to ensure the continued protection of the financial system of the Union against the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, it is necessary to ensure that crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; carry out increased checks on financial operations involving customers and financial institutions from third countries listed as high-risk third countries because they are jurisdictions which have strategic deficiencies in their national anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regimes that pose significant threats to the financial system of the Union as referred to in Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council(²⁰)Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC (OJ L 141, 5.6.2015, p. 73)..

Certain firms subject to Union legislative acts on financial services should be allowed to provide all or some crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; without being required to obtain an authorisation as a crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; under this Regulation if they notify their competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; with certain information before providing those services for the first time. In such cases, those firms should be deemed to be crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; and the relevant administrative powers provided in this Regulation, including the power to suspend or prohibit certain crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;, should apply with respect to them. Those firms should be subject to all requirements applicable to crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; under this Regulation with the exception of authorisation requirements, own fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; requirements and the approval procedure regarding shareholders and members that have qualifying holdingsmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists;, as those matters are covered by the respective Union legislative acts under which they were authorised. The notification procedure for credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; intending to provide crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; under this Regulation should be without prejudice to the provisions of national law transposing Directive 2013/36/EU that set out procedures for the authorisation of credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; to provide the services listed in Annex I to that Directive.

In order to ensure consumer protection, market integrity and financial stability, crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should always act honestly, fairly and professionally and in the best interests of their clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;. Crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; should be deemed ‘financial services’ as defined in Directive 2002/65/EC in cases where they meet the criteria of that Directive. Where marketed at distance, the contracts between crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; and consumers should be subject to Directive 2002/65/EC as well, unless expressly stated otherwise in this Regulation. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should provide their clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; with information that is complete, fair, clear and not misleading and warn them about the risks associated with crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should make their pricing policies public, should establish complaints-handling procedures and should have a robust policy for the identification, prevention, management and disclosure of conflicts of interest.

To ensure consumer protection, crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; authorised under this Regulation should comply with certain prudential requirements. Those prudential requirements should be set as a fixed amount or in proportion to the fixed overheads of crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; of the preceding year, depending on the types of services they provide.

Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should be subject to strong organisational requirements. The members of the management bodymeans the body or bodies of an issuer, offeror or person seeking admission to trading, or of a crypto-asset service provider, which are appointed in accordance with national law, which are empowered to set the entity’s strategy, objectives and overall direction, and which oversee and monitor management decision-making in the entity and include the persons who effectively direct the business of the entity; of crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should be fit and proper and should, in particular, not have been convicted of any offence in the field of money laundering or terrorist financing or of any other offence that would affect their good repute. The shareholders or members, whether direct or indirect, natural or legal persons, that have qualifying holdingsmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; in crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should be of sufficiently good repute and should, in particular, not have been convicted of any offence in the field of money laundering or terrorist financing or of any other offence that would affect their good repute. In addition, where the influence exercised by shareholders and members that have qualifying holdingsmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; in crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; is likely to be prejudicial to the sound and prudent management of the crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; taking into account, amongst others, their previous activities, the risk of them engaging in illicit activities, or the influence or control by a government of a third country, competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should have the power to address those risks. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should employ management and staff with adequate knowledge, skills and expertise and should take all reasonable steps to perform their functions, including through the preparation of a business continuity plan. They should have sound internal control and risk assessment mechanisms as well as adequate systems and procedures to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the information received. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should have appropriate arrangements to keep records of all transactions, orders and services related to the crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; that they provide. They should also have systems in place to detect potential market abuse committed by clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;.

In order to ensure protection of their clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;, crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should have adequate arrangements to safeguard the clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;’ ownership rights with respect to the crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; they hold. Where their business model requires them to hold fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; as defined in Directive (EU) 2015/2366 in the form of banknotes, coins, scriptural money or electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC; belonging to their clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;, crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should place such fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; with a credit institutionmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; or a central bank, where an account with the central bank is available. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should be authorised to make payment transactions in connection with the crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; they offer only where they are authorised as payment institutionsmeans a payment institution as defined in Article 4, point (4), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; in accordance with that Directive.

Depending on the services they provide and due to the specific risks raised by each type of services, crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should be subject to requirements specific to those services. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clientsmeans the safekeeping or controlling, on behalf of clients, of crypto-assets or of the means of access to such crypto-assets, where applicable in the form of private cryptographic keys; should conclude an agreement with their clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; with certain mandatory provisions and should establish and implement a custody policy, which should be made available to clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; upon their request in an electronic format. Such agreement should specify, inter alia, the nature of the service provided, which could include the holding of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; belonging to clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; or the means of access to such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, in which case the clientmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; might keep control of the crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; in custody. Alternatively, the crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; or the means of access to them could be transferred to the full control of the crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; that hold crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; belonging to clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;, or the means of access to such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, should ensure that those crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; are not used for their own account. The crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should ensure that all crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; held are always unencumbered. Those crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should also be held liable for any losses resulting from an incident related to information and communication technology (‘ICT’), including an incident resulting from a cyber-attack, theft or any malfunctions. Hardware or software providers of non-custodial wallets should not fall within the scope of this Regulation.

To ensure the orderly functioning of markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; operating a trading platform for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should have detailed operating rules, should ensure that their systems and procedures are sufficiently resilient, should be subject to pre-trade and post-trade transparency requirements adapted to the markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, and should set transparent and non-discriminatory rules, based on objective criteria, governing access to their platforms. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; operating a trading platform for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should also have a transparent fee structure for the services provided to avoid the placing of orders that could contribute to market abuse or disorderly trading conditions. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; operating a trading platform for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should be able to settle transactions executed on trading platforms on-chain and off-chain, and should ensure a timely settlement. The settlement of transactions should be initiated within 24 hours of a transaction being executed on the trading platform. In the case of an off-chain settlement, the settlement should be initiated on the same business day whereas in the case of an on-chain settlement, the settlement might take longer as it is not controlled by the crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; operating the trading platform.

To ensure consumer protection, crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; that exchange crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; for fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; or other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; by using their own capital should draw up a non-discriminatory commercial policy. They should publish either firm quotes or the methodology they are using for determining the price of the crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; they wish to exchange, and they should publish any limits they wish to establish on the amount to be exchanged. They should also be subject to post-trade transparency requirements.

Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; that execute orders for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; on behalf of clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; should draw up an execution policy and should always aim to obtain the best possible result for their clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;, including when they act as a clientmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;’s counterparty. They should take all necessary steps to avoid the misuse by their employees of information related to clientmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; orders. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; that receive orders and transmit those orders to other crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should implement procedures for the prompt and proper sending of those orders. Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should not receive any monetary or non-monetary benefits for transmitting those orders to any particular trading platform for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; or any other crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;. They should monitor the effectiveness of their order execution arrangements and execution policy, assessing whether the execution venues included in the order execution policy provide for the best possible result for the clientmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; or whether they need to make changes to their execution arrangements, and should notify clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; with whom they have an ongoing clientmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; relationship of any material changes to their order execution arrangements or execution policy.

When a crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; executing orders for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; on behalf of clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; is the clientmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;’s counterparty, there might be similarities with the services of exchanging crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; for fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; or other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. However, in exchanging crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; for fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; or other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, the price for such exchanges is freely determined by the crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; as a currency exchange. Yet in the execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clientsmeans the conclusion of agreements, on behalf of clients, to purchase or sell one or more crypto-assets or the subscription on behalf of clients for one or more crypto-assets, and includes the conclusion of contracts to sell crypto-assets at the moment of their offer to the public or admission to trading;, the crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should always ensure that it obtains the best possible result for its clientmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;, including when it acts as the clientmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;’s counterparty, in line with its best execution policy. The exchange of crypto-assets for fundsmeans the conclusion of purchase or sale contracts concerning crypto-assets with clients for funds by using proprietary capital; or other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; when made by the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; or offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; should not be a crypto-asset servicemeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;.

Crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; that place crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; for potential holders should, before the conclusion of a contract, communicate to those persons information on how they intend to perform their service. To ensure the protection of their clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;, crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; that are authorised for the placing of crypto-assetsmeans the marketing, on behalf of or for the account of the offeror or a party related to the offeror, of crypto-assets to purchasers; should have in place specific and adequate procedures to prevent, monitor, manage and disclose any conflicts of interest arising from the placing of crypto-assetsmeans the marketing, on behalf of or for the account of the offeror or a party related to the offeror, of crypto-assets to purchasers; with their own clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; and arising where the proposed price for the placing of crypto-assetsmeans the marketing, on behalf of or for the account of the offeror or a party related to the offeror, of crypto-assets to purchasers; has been overestimated or underestimated. The placing of crypto-assetsmeans the marketing, on behalf of or for the account of the offeror or a party related to the offeror, of crypto-assets to purchasers; on behalf of an offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; should not be deemed to be a separate offer.

To ensure consumer protection, crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; that provide advice on crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, either at the request of a clientmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; or on their own initiative, or that provide portfolio management of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, should make an assessment whether those crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; or crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; are suitable for the clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;, having regard to their clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;’ experience, knowledge, objectives and ability to bear losses. Where the clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; do not provide information to the crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; on their experience, knowledge, objectives and ability to bear losses, or it is clear that the crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; are not suitable for the clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;, the crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should not recommend such crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; or crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; to those clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;, nor begin providing portfolio management of crypto-assetsmeans managing portfolios in accordance with mandates given by clients on a discretionary client-by-client basis where such portfolios include one or more crypto-assets;. When providing advice on crypto-assetsmeans offering, giving or agreeing to give personalised recommendations to a client, either at the client’s request or on the initiative of the crypto-asset service provider providing the advice, in respect of one or more transactions relating to crypto-assets, or the use of crypto-asset services;, crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should provide clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; with a report, which should include the suitability assessment specifying the advice given and how it meets the preferences and objectives of clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;. When providing portfolio management of crypto-assetsmeans managing portfolios in accordance with mandates given by clients on a discretionary client-by-client basis where such portfolios include one or more crypto-assets;, crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; should provide periodic statements to their clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;, which should include a review of their activities and of the performance of the portfolio as well as an updated statement on the suitability assessment.

Some crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;, in particular providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clientsmeans the safekeeping or controlling, on behalf of clients, of crypto-assets or of the means of access to such crypto-assets, where applicable in the form of private cryptographic keys;, the placing of crypto-assetsmeans the marketing, on behalf of or for the account of the offeror or a party related to the offeror, of crypto-assets to purchasers;, and transfer services for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; on behalf of clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;, might overlap with payment servicesmeans payment services as defined in Article 4, point (3), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; as defined in Directive (EU) 2015/2366.

The tools provided by issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC; to their clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; to manage an e-money token might not be distinguishable from the activity of providing custody and administration services as regulated by this Regulation. Electronic money institutionsmeans an electronic money institution as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive 2009/110/EC; should therefore be able to provide custody services, without prior authorisation under this Regulation to provide crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;, only in relation to the e-money tokens issued by them.

The activity of traditional electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC; distributors, namely, that of distributing electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC; on behalf of issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;, would amount to the activity of placing of crypto-assetsmeans the marketing, on behalf of or for the account of the offeror or a party related to the offeror, of crypto-assets to purchasers; for the purposes of this Regulation. However, natural or legal persons allowed to distribute electronic moneymeans electronic money as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive 2009/110/EC; under Directive 2009/110/EC should also be able to distribute e-money tokens on behalf of issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of e-money tokens without being required to obtain prior authorisation under this Regulation to provide crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;. Such distributors should, therefore, be exempt from the requirement to seek authorisation as a crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; for the activity of the placing of crypto-assetsmeans the marketing, on behalf of or for the account of the offeror or a party related to the offeror, of crypto-assets to purchasers;.

A provider of transfer services for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should be an entity that provides for the transfer, on behalf of a clientmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services;, of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; from one distributed ledgermeans an information repository that keeps records of transactions and that is shared across, and synchronised between, a set of DLT network nodes using a consensus mechanism; address or account to another. Such transfer service should not include the validators, nodes or miners that might be part of confirming a transaction and updating the state of the underlying distributed ledgermeans an information repository that keeps records of transactions and that is shared across, and synchronised between, a set of DLT network nodes using a consensus mechanism;. Many crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; also offer some kind of transfer service for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; as part of, for example, the service of providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clientsmeans the safekeeping or controlling, on behalf of clients, of crypto-assets or of the means of access to such crypto-assets, where applicable in the form of private cryptographic keys;, exchange of crypto-assets for fundsmeans the conclusion of purchase or sale contracts concerning crypto-assets with clients for funds by using proprietary capital; or other crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, or execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clientsmeans the conclusion of agreements, on behalf of clients, to purchase or sell one or more crypto-assets or the subscription on behalf of clients for one or more crypto-assets, and includes the conclusion of contracts to sell crypto-assets at the moment of their offer to the public or admission to trading;. Depending on the precise features of the services associated to the transfer of e-money tokens, such services could fall under the definition of payment servicesmeans payment services as defined in Article 4, point (3), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; in Directive (EU) 2015/2366. In such cases, those transfers should be provided by an entity authorised to provide such payment servicesmeans payment services as defined in Article 4, point (3), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; in accordance with that Directive.

This Regulation should not address the lending and borrowing of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, including e-money tokens, and therefore should not prejudice applicable national law. The feasibility and necessity of regulating such activities should be further assessed.

It is important to ensure confidence in markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and the integrity of those markets. It is therefore necessary to lay down rules to deter market abuse for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; that are admitted to trading. However, as issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; are very often SMEs, it would be disproportionate to apply all of the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council(²¹)Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on market abuse (market abuse regulation) and repealing Directive 2003/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directives 2003/124/EC, 2003/125/EC and 2004/72/EC (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 1). to them. It is therefore necessary to lay down specific rules prohibiting certain behaviours that are likely to undermine user confidence in markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and the integrity of those markets, including insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of inside information and market manipulation related to crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. Those bespoke rules on market abuse committed in relation to crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should also be applied in cases where crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; are admitted to trading.

Legal certainty for participants in markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should be enhanced through a characterisation of two elements essential to the specification of inside information, namely, the precise nature of that information and the significance of its potential effect on the prices of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;. Those elements should also be considered for the prevention of market abuse in the context of markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and their functioning, taking into account, for instance, the use of social media, the use of smart contracts for order executions and the concentration of mining pools.

Derivatives that qualify as financial instrumentsmeans financial instruments as defined in Article 4(1), point (15), of Directive 2014/65/EU; as defined in Directive 2014/65/EU, and whose underlying asset is a crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, are subject to Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 when traded on a regulated market, multilateral trading facility or organised trading facility. Crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; falling within the scope of this Regulation, which are underlying assets of those derivatives, should be subject to the market abuse provisions of this Regulation.

Competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should be conferred with sufficient powers to supervise the issuance, offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; and admission to trading of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, including asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens, as well as to supervise crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;. Those powers should include the power to suspend or prohibit an offer to the publicmeans a communication to persons in any form, and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the crypto-assets to be offered so as to enable prospective holders to decide whether to purchase those crypto-assets; or an admission to trading of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; or the provision of a crypto-asset servicemeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;, and to investigate infringements of the rules on market abuse. Issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens should not be subject to supervision under this Regulation when the issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; is not an offerormeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; or a person seeking admission to trading.

Competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should also have the power to impose penalties on issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;, offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; or persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, including asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens, and on crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;. When determining the type and level of an administrative penalty or other administrative measure, competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should take into account all relevant circumstances, including the gravity and the duration of the infringement and whether it was committed intentionally.

Given the cross-border nature of markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should cooperate with each other to detect and deter any infringements of this Regulation.

To facilitate transparency regarding crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;, ESMA should establish a register of crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white papers, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of e-money tokens and crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;.

Significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; can be used as a means of exchange and to make large volumes of payment transactions. Since such large volumes can pose specific risks to monetary transmission channels and monetary sovereignty, it is appropriate to assign to EBA the task of supervising the issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, once such tokens have been classified as significant. Such assignment should address the very specific nature of the risks posed by asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, and should not set a precedent for any other Union legislative acts on financial services.

Competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; in charge of supervision under Directive 2009/110/EC should supervise issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of e-money tokens. However, given the potential widespread use of significant e-money tokens as a means of payment and the risks they can pose to financial stability, a dual supervision both by competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; and by EBA of issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant e-money tokens is necessary. EBA should supervise the compliance by issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant e-money tokens with the specific additional requirements set out in this Regulation for such tokens. Since the specific additional requirements should apply only to electronic money institutionsmeans an electronic money institution as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive 2009/110/EC; issuing significant e-money tokens, credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; issuing significant e-money tokens, to which such requirements do not apply, should remain supervised by their respective competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;. The dual supervision should address the very specific nature of the risks posed by e-money tokens, and should not set a precedent for any other Union legislative acts on financial services.

Significant e-money tokens denominated in an official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority; of a Member State other than the euro which are used as a means of exchange and in order to settle large volumes of payment transactions can, although unlikely to occur, pose specific risks to the monetary sovereignty of the Member State in whose official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority; they are denominated. Where at least 80 % of the number of holders and of the volume of transactions of those significant e-money tokens are concentrated in the home Member Statemeans:where the offeror or person seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens has its registered office in the Union, the Member State where that offeror or person has its registered office;where the offeror or person seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens has no registered office in the Union but does have one or more branches in the Union, the Member State chosen by that offeror or person from among the Member States where it has branches;where the offeror or person seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens is established in a third country and has no branch in the Union, either the Member State where the crypto-assets are intended to be offered to the public for the first time or, at the choice of the offeror or person seeking admission to trading, the Member State where the first application for admission to trading of those crypto-assets is made;in the case of an issuer of asset-referenced tokens, the Member State where the issuer of asset-referenced tokens has its registered office;in the case of an issuer of e-money tokens, the Member State where the issuer of e-money tokens is authorised as a credit institution under Directive 2013/36/EU or as an electronic money institution under Directive 2009/110/EC;in the case of crypto-asset service providers, the Member State where the crypto-asset service provider has its registered office;, the supervisory responsibilities should not be transferred to EBA.

EBA should establish a college of supervisors for each issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and of significant e-money tokens. Since issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and of significant e-money tokens are usually at the centre of a network of entities that ensure the issuance, transfer and distribution of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, the members of the college of supervisors for each issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; should therefore include, amongst others, the competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the most relevant trading platforms for crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;, in cases where the significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or the significant e-money tokens are admitted to trading, and the competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the most relevant entities and crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; ensuring the custody and administration of the significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and of significant e-money tokens on behalf of holders. The college of supervisors for issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and of significant e-money tokens should facilitate the cooperation and exchange of information among its members and should issue non-binding opinions on, amongst others, changes to the authorisation of, or supervisory measures concerning, such issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets;.

To supervise issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and of significant e-money tokens, EBA should have the powers, amongst others, to carry out on-site inspections, take supervisory measures and impose fines.

EBA should charge fees to issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and of significant e-money tokens to cover its costs, including for overheads. For issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, the fee should be proportionate to the size of their reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer;. For issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant e-money tokens, the fee should be proportionate to the amount of fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; received in exchange for the significant e-money tokens.

In order to ensure the effectiveness of this Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of further specifying technical elements of the definitions set out in this Regulation in order to adjust them to market and technological developments, further specifying certain criteria to determine whether an asset-referenced tokenmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or an e-money token should be classified as significant, determining when there is a significant investor protection concern or a threat to the proper functioning and integrity of markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; or to the stability of the whole or part of the financial system of the Union, further specifying the procedural rules for the exercise of the power of EBA to impose fines or periodic penalty payments, including provisions on the rights of the defence, temporal provisions, and the collection of fines or periodic penalty payments, and the limitation periods for the imposition and enforcement of fines and periodic penalty payments, and further specifying the type and amount of supervisory fees that EBA can charge to the issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or significant e-money tokens. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making(²²)OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

In order to promote the consistent application of this Regulation across the Union, including the adequate protection of holders of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; of crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;, in particular when they are consumers, technical standards should be developed. It is efficient and appropriate to entrust EBA and ESMA, as bodies with highly specialised expertise, with the development of draft regulatory technical standards, which do not involve policy choices, for submission to the Commission.

The Commission should be empowered to adopt regulatory technical standards developed by EBA and ESMA with regard to: the content, methodologies and presentation of information in a crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper on principal adverse impacts on the climate and other environment‐related adverse impacts of the consensus mechanismmeans the rules and procedures by which an agreement is reached, among DLT network nodes, that a transaction is validated; used to issue the crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology;; the procedure for approval of crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white papers submitted by credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU; when issuing asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;; the information that an application for authorisation as an issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; should contain; the methodology to estimate the quarterly average number and average aggregate value of transactions per day associated to uses of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and e-money tokens denominated in a currency which is not an official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority; of a Member State as a means of exchange in each single currency area; the requirements, templates and procedures for handling complaints of holders of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and of clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; of crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;; the requirements for the policies and procedures to identify, prevent, manage and disclose conflicts of interest of issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and the details and methodology for the content of that disclosure; the procedure and timeframe for an issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and significant e-money tokens to adjust to higher own fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; requirements, the criteria for requiring higher own fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366;, the minimum requirements for the design of stress testing programmes; the liquidity requirements for the reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer;; the financial instrumentsmeans financial instruments as defined in Article 4(1), point (15), of Directive 2014/65/EU; into which the reserve of assetsmeans the basket of reserve assets securing the claim against the issuer; can be invested; detailed content of information necessary to carry out the assessment of the proposed acquisition of the qualifying holdingmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; in an issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;; requirements for additional obligations for issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;; the information that credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU;, central securities depositories, investment firmsmeans an investment firm as defined in Article 4(1), point (2), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2014/65/EU;, market operators, electronic money institutionsmeans an electronic money institution as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive 2009/110/EC;, UCITS management companiesmeans a management company as defined in Article 2(1), point (b), of Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(33) Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) (OJ L 302, 17.11.2009, p. 32).; and alternative investment fund managersmeans an AIFM as defined in Article 4(1), point (b), of Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(34) Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers and amending Directives 2003/41/EC and 2009/65/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 1095/2010 (OJ L 174, 1.7.2011, p. 1).; who intend to provide crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; notify to competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;; the information that an application for the authorisation of crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; contains; the content, methodologies and presentation of information that the crypto-assets service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; makes publicly available and that is related to principal adverse impacts on the climate and other environment-related adverse impacts of the consensus mechanismmeans the rules and procedures by which an agreement is reached, among DLT network nodes, that a transaction is validated; used to issue each crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; in relation to which they provide services; measures ensuring continuity and regularity in the performance of the crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; and the records to be kept of all crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;, orders and transactions that they undertake; the requirements for the policies to identify, prevent, manage and disclose conflicts of interest of crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; and the details and methodology for the content of that disclosure; the manner in which transparency data of the operator of a trading platform is to be offered and the content and format of order book records regarding the trading platform; the detailed content of the information necessary to carry out the assessment of the proposed acquisition of the qualifying holdingmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; in a crypto-asset service providermeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;; the appropriate arrangements, systems and procedures for monitoring and detecting market abuse; the notification template for reporting suspicions of market abuse and coordination procedures between the relevant competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; for the detection of market abuse; the information to be exchanged between the competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;; a template document for cooperation arrangements between the competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of Member States and supervisory authorities of third countries; the data necessary for the classification of crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white papers in ESMA’s register and the practical arrangements to ensure that such data is machine-readable; the conditions under which certain members of college of supervisors for issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant e-money tokens are to be considered most relevant in their category; and the conditions under which it is considered that asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; or e-money tokens are used at a large scale for the purposes of qualifying certain members of that college and details of the practical arrangements for the functioning of that college. The Commission should adopt those regulatory technical standards by means of delegated acts pursuant to Article 290 TFEU and in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010 and of (EU) No 1095/2010, respectively.

The Commission should be empowered to adopt implementing technical standards developed by EBA and ESMA, with regard to: establishing standard forms, formats and templates for crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white papers; establishing standard forms, templates and procedures to transmit information for the purposes of the application for authorisation as an issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;; establishing standard forms, formats and templates for the purposes of reporting on asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and e-money tokens denominated in a currency which is not an official currencymeans an official currency of a country that is issued by a central bank or other monetary authority; of a Member State that are issued with a value higher than EUR100 000 000; establishing standard forms, templates and procedures for the notification of information to competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; by credit institutionsmeans a credit institution as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2013/36/EU;, central securities depositories, investment firmsmeans an investment firm as defined in Article 4(1), point (2), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and authorised under Directive 2014/65/EU;, market operators, electronic money institutionsmeans an electronic money institution as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive 2009/110/EC;, UCITS management companiesmeans a management company as defined in Article 2(1), point (b), of Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(33) Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) (OJ L 302, 17.11.2009, p. 32).; and alternative investment fund managersmeans an AIFM as defined in Article 4(1), point (b), of Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(34) Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers and amending Directives 2003/41/EC and 2009/65/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 1095/2010 (OJ L 174, 1.7.2011, p. 1).; who intend to provide crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;; establishing standard forms, templates and procedures for the application for authorisation as crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;; determining the technical means for public disclosure of inside information and for delaying the public disclosure of inside information; and establishing standard forms, templates and procedures for the cooperation and exchange of information between competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; and between competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;, EBA and ESMA. The Commission should adopt those implementing technical standards by means of implementing acts pursuant to Article 291 TFEU and in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 and Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.

Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely addressing the fragmentation of the legal framework applicable to offerorsmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, or the issuer, who offers crypto-assets to the public; or persons seeking the admission to trading of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and e-money tokens, to issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and e-money tokens and to crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;, and ensuring the proper functioning of markets in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; while ensuring the protection of holders of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and clientsmeans any natural or legal person to whom a crypto-asset service provider provides crypto-asset services; of crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;, in particular retail holdersmeans any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession;, as well as the protection of market integrity and financial stability, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by creating a framework on which a larger cross-border market in crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; could develop, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

In order to avoid disrupting market participants that provide services and activities in relation to crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; other than asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and e-money tokens that have been issued before the date of application of this Regulation, issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; should be exempt from the obligation to publish a crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; white paper and certain other requirements of this Regulation. However, certain obligations should apply when such crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; were admitted to trading before the date of application of this Regulation. In order to avoid disruption to existing market participants, transitional provisions are necessary for issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; that were in operation at the time of entry into application of this Regulation.

Since the national regulatory frameworks applicable to crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; before the entry into application of this Regulation differ among Member States, it is essential that those Member States that do not, at present, have in place strong prudential requirements for crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; currently operating under their regulatory frameworks have the possibility of requiring such crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; to be subject to stricter requirements than those under the national regulatory frameworks. In such cases, Member States should be permitted to not apply, or to reduce, the 18-month transitional period that would otherwise allow crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; to provide services based on their existing national regulatory framework. Such an option for Member States should not set a precedent for any other Union legislative acts on financial services.

Whistleblowers should be able to bring new information to the attention of competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; that helps them in detecting infringements of this Regulation and imposing penalties. This Regulation should therefore ensure that adequate arrangements are in place to enable whistleblowers to alert competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; to actual or potential infringements of this Regulation and to protect them from retaliation. That should be done by amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council(²³)Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (OJ L 305, 26.11.2019, p. 17). in order to make it applicable to infringements of this Regulation.

Given that EBA should be mandated with the direct supervision of issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of significant asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; and of significant e-money tokens, and ESMA should be mandated to make use of its powers in relation to significant crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59;, it is necessary to ensure that EBA and ESMA are able to exercise all of their powers and tasks in order to fulfil their objectives of protecting the public interest by contributing to the short-, medium- and long-term stability and effectiveness of the financial system for the Union economy, its citizens and businesses and to ensure that issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and crypto-asset service providersmeans a legal person or other undertaking whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more crypto-asset services to clients on a professional basis, and that is allowed to provide crypto-asset services in accordance with Article 59; are covered by Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010. Those Regulations should therefore be amended accordingly.

The issuance, offer or seeking of admission to trading of crypto-assetsmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; and the provision of crypto-asset servicesmeans any of the following services and activities relating to any crypto-asset:providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;exchange of crypto-assets for funds;exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;placing of crypto-assets;reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;providing advice on crypto-assets;providing portfolio management on crypto-assets;providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; could involve the processing of personal datameans personal data as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679;. Any processing of personal datameans personal data as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679; under this Regulation should be carried out in accordance with applicable Union law on the protection of personal datameans personal data as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679;. This Regulation is without prejudice to the rights and obligations under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council(²⁴)Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1). and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council(²⁵)Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39)..

The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and delivered an opinion on 24 June 2021(²⁶)OJ C 337, 23.8.2021, p. 4..

The date of application of this Regulation should be deferred in order to allow for the adoption of regulatory technical standards, implementing technical standards and delegated acts that are necessary to further specify certain elements of this Regulation,