Article 12 Modification of published crypto-asset white papers and of published marketing communications

Summary What does Article 12 of the MiCA regulation say?

This article establishes the ongoing maintenance obligations for crypto-asset white papers and marketing communications after their initial publication.

It directly builds on Article 9, which governs the original publication requirements, by setting out what must happen when material changes arise.

The core obligation is that offerors, persons seeking admission to trading, and trading platform operators must update their published white papers and marketing communications whenever a significant new factor, material mistake, or material inaccuracy emerges that could affect an assessment of the crypto-asset.

This duty persists for the entire duration of the public offer or for as long as the crypto-asset remains admitted to trading.

The article then maps out a clear procedural chain: advance notification to the home competent authority, public disclosure on the website, onward notification to host Member State authorities and ESMA, and formal publication of the updated documents.

It also imposes version control requirements, including time-stamping and retention of older versions for at least 10 years.

Important points:

Update your published crypto-asset white paper and any marketing communications whenever a significant new factor, material mistake, or material inaccuracy arises that could affect the assessment of the crypto-asset.
Notify the home competent authority of any modifications and the intended publication date at least seven working days before publication, and publish a summary of the reasons for the changes on your website.
All older versions of the white paper and marketing communications must remain publicly available on your website for at least 10 years, clearly marked as no longer valid and with a link to the current version.

Springlex's summary of the article, a reading aid, not a substitute for the legal text.

1. Offerors, persons seeking admission to trading or operators of a trading platform for crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens shall modify their published crypto-asset white papers and, where applicable, their published marketing communications, whenever there is a significant new factor, material mistake or material inaccuracy that is capable of affecting the assessment of the crypto-assets. That requirement shall apply for the duration of the offer to the public or for as long as the crypto-asset is admitted to trading.
1. Offerors, persons seeking admission to trading or operators of a trading platform for crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens shall notify their modified crypto-asset white papers and, where applicable, modified marketing communications, and the intended publication date, to the competent authority of their home Member State, including the reasons for such modification, at least seven working days before their publication.
1. On the date of publication, or earlier if required by the competent authority, the offeror, the person seeking admission to trading or the operator of the trading platform shall immediately inform the public on its website of the notification of a modified crypto-asset white paper with the competent authority of its home Member State and shall provide a summary of the reasons for which it has notified a modified crypto-asset white paper.
1. The order of the information in a modified crypto-asset white paper and, where applicable, in modified marketing communications, shall be consistent with that of the crypto-asset white paper or marketing communications published in accordance with Article 9.
1. Within five working days of receipt of the modified crypto-asset white paper and, where applicable, of the modified marketing communications, the competent authority of the home Member State shall notify the modified crypto-asset white paper and, where applicable, the modified marketing communications to the competent authority of the host Member States referred to in Article 8(6) and communicate the notification and the date of publication to ESMA.
2. ESMA shall make the modified crypto-asset white paper available in the register, under Article 109(2), upon publication.
1. Offerors, persons seeking admission to trading or operators of trading platforms for crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens shall publish the modified crypto-asset white paper and, where applicable, the modified marketing communications, including the reasons for such modification, on their website in accordance with Article 9.
1. The modified crypto-asset white paper and, where applicable, the modified marketing communications, shall be time-stamped. The most recent modified crypto-asset white paper and, where applicable, the modified marketing communications shall be marked as the applicable version. All modified crypto-asset white papers and, where applicable, modified marketing communications shall remain available for as long as the crypto-assets are held by the public.
1. Where the offer to the public concerns a utility token providing access to goods and services that do not yet exist or are not yet in operation, changes made in the modified crypto-asset white paper and, where applicable, the modified marketing communications, shall not extend the time limit of 12 months referred to in Article 4(6).
1. Older versions of the crypto-asset white paper and the marketing communications shall remain publicly available on the website of the offerors, persons seeking admission to trading, or operators of trading platforms, for at least 10 years after the date of publication of those older versions, with a prominent warning stating that they are no longer valid and with a hyperlink to the dedicated section on the website where the most recent version of those documents is published.

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Springlex and this text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. No liability is assumed for its content. The authentic version of this act is the one published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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