Art. 84 Content of the assessment of proposed acquisitions of crypto-asset service providers | MiCA regulation | MiCA

This article directly supports Article 83, which governs the notification and assessment process when a person proposes to acquire a qualifying holding in a crypto-asset service provider.

Article 84 sets out the specific criteria competent authorities must use when conducting that assessment, covering the reputation of the proposed acquirer, the fitness of those who would direct the business, the financial soundness of the acquisition, ongoing compliance with the regulation, and any risk of money laundering or terrorist financing.

Importantly, competent authorities may only block a proposed acquisition where there are reasonable grounds based on these criteria or where the information submitted is incomplete or false.

Member States are also prohibited from adding their own preconditions or assessing acquisitions on economic-needs grounds.

Important points:

Competent authorities are required to assess proposed acquisitions of qualifying holdings in crypto-asset service providers against five defined criteria, including reputation, financial soundness, and money laundering risk.
Competent authorities may only oppose a proposed acquisition on the basis of those criteria or if the information provided is incomplete or false.
ESMA, in close cooperation with EBA, is required to develop regulatory technical standards specifying the detailed information needed to carry out the assessment, to be submitted to the Commission by 30 June 2024.

1. When performing the assessment referred to in Article 83(4), the competent authority shall appraise the suitability of the proposed acquirer and the financial soundness of the proposed acquisition referred to in Article 83(1) against all of the following criteria:
  1. the reputation of the proposed acquirer;
  2. the reputation, knowledge, skills and experience of any person who will direct the business of the crypto-asset service provider as a result of the proposed acquisition;
  3. the financial soundness of the proposed acquirer, in particular in relation to the type of business envisaged and pursued in respect of the crypto-asset service provider in which the acquisition is proposed;
  4. whether the crypto-asset service provider will be able to comply and continue to comply with the provisions of this Title;
  5. whether there are reasonable grounds to suspect that, in connection with the proposed acquisition, money laundering or terrorist financing within the meaning of, respectively, Article 1(3) and (5) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 is being or has been committed or attempted, or that the proposed acquisition could increase the risk thereof.
1. The competent authority may oppose the proposed acquisition only where there are reasonable grounds for doing so on the basis of the criteria set out in paragraph 1 of this Article or where the information provided in accordance with Article 83(4) is incomplete or false.
1. Member States shall not impose any prior conditions in respect of the level of qualifying holding that is required to be acquired under this Regulation nor allow their competent authorities to examine the proposed acquisition in terms of the economic needs of the market.
1. ESMA, in close cooperation with EBA, shall develop draft regulatory technical standards specifying the detailed content of the information that is necessary to carry out the assessment referred to in Article 83(4), first subparagraph. The information required shall be relevant for a prudential assessment, proportionate and adapted to the nature of the proposed acquirer and the proposed acquisition referred to in Article 83(1).
2. ESMA shall submit the draft regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph to the Commission by 30 June 2024.
3. Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.