Article 2 Scope

Some crypto-assets, in particular those that qualify as financial instruments as defined in Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(⁴), fall within the scope of existing Union legislative acts on financial services. Therefore, a full set of Union rules already applies to issuers of such crypto-assets and to firms conducting activities related to such crypto-assets.

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-assets 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-assets that qualify as financial instruments as defined in Directive 2014/65/EU, those that qualify as deposits as defined in Directive 2014/49/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(⁷), including structured deposits as defined in Directive 2014/65/EU, those that qualify as funds as defined in Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council(⁸), except if they qualify as electronic money tokens (‘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), 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 money and funds received in exchange for electronic money should not be treated as deposits in accordance with Directive 2009/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(¹⁰), e-money tokens cannot be treated as deposits that are excluded from the scope of this Regulation.

This Regulation should not apply to crypto-assets that are unique and not fungible with other crypto-assets, including digital art and collectibles. The value of such unique and non-fungible crypto-assets is attributable to each crypto-asset’s unique characteristics and the utility it gives to the holder of the token. Nor should this Regulation apply to crypto-assets representing services or physical assets that are unique and non-fungible, such as product guarantees or real estate. While unique and non-fungible crypto-assets might be traded on the marketplace and be accumulated speculatively, they are not readily interchangeable and the relative value of one such crypto-asset 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-assets 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-asset should not be considered unique and non-fungible. The issuance of crypto-assets 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-asset 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-asset to be considered unique and non-fungible. The exclusion of crypto-assets that are unique and non-fungible from the scope of this Regulation is without prejudice to the qualification of such crypto-assets as financial instruments. This Regulation should also apply to crypto-assets 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-assets, competent authorities should adopt a substance over form approach whereby the features of the crypto-asset in question determine the classification and not its designation by the issuer.

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-assets issued by other public authorities, including central, regional and local administrations, should not be subject to the Union framework for markets in crypto-assets. 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-assets covered by this Regulation and, on the other hand, financial instruments, ESMA should be mandated to issue guidelines on the criteria and conditions for the qualification of crypto-assets as financial instruments. Those guidelines should also allow for a better understanding of the cases where crypto-assets that are otherwise considered unique and not fungible with other crypto-assets might qualify as financial instruments. In order to promote a common approach towards the classification of crypto-assets, 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) (the ‘European Supervisory Authorities’ or ‘ESAs’) should promote discussions on such classification. Competent authorities should be able to request opinions from the ESAs on the classification of crypto-assets, including classifications proposed by offerors or persons seeking admission to trading. Offerors or persons seeking admission to trading are primarily responsible for the correct classification of crypto-assets, which might be challenged by the competent authorities, both before the date of publication of the offer and at any time thereafter. Where the classification of a crypto-asset 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) and should be interpreted in such a way that it is not in conflict with that Regulation.

Digital assets that cannot be transferred to other holders do not fall within the definition of crypto-assets. Therefore, digital assets that are accepted only by the issuer or the offeror 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 issuer or offeror of those points.

This Regulation should apply to natural and legal persons and certain other undertakings and to the crypto-asset services 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 services 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 issuers of crypto-assets, offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets and crypto-asset service providers. Where crypto-assets have no identifiable issuer, they should not fall within the scope of Title II, III or IV of this Regulation. Crypto-asset service providers providing services in respect of such crypto-assets should, however, be covered by this Regulation.