Art. 10 Methodology, common reference parameters and the plausibility of assumptions | RTS on stress test programmes | MiCA

This article feeds directly into the broader stress testing framework established in earlier articles, focusing specifically on how issuers of asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens must identify and define the risks that underpin their stress tests.

It covers three broad risk categories: risks to the tokens and reserve assets themselves, risks arising from the technology and systems the tokens rely on, and risks stemming from contractual arrangements with third parties.

Once risks are identified, issuers must translate them into concrete, quantifiable scenarios — drawing on both historical and hypothetical data — and attach defined time horizons depending on whether the scenario relates to solvency or liquidity testing.

Important points:

Identify risks across three categories: token and reserve asset risks, technology and systems risks, and third-party contractual arrangement risks.
Develop well-defined and quantifiable risk scenarios, applying a 3-year time horizon for solvency stress tests and up to 1 year for liquidity stress tests.
Quantify or produce approximate estimations of the severity, plausibility, and potential losses associated with each identified stress scenario.

1. Issuers of asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens shall identify the following risks categories:
  1. risks to the value, transferability, liquidity, accessibility or exchangeability of the asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens and reserve assets;
  2. risks arising from systems, on which the asset-referenced token or e-money token relies, including the underlying distributed ledger or any other technology of the token and any trading platform, market infrastructure or payment system used for the issuance or the transfer of the tokens;
  3. risks arising from the performance of contractual arrangements, which the relevant issuer has entered into with other issuers, crypto-asset service providers, financial institutions or any other natural or legal person, for the issuance or transfer of the tokens or for the establishment, management, custody or investment of the reserve assets, including any arrangement whereby the issuer outsources tasks.
1. To assess the risks referred to in paragraph 1, issuers of asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens shall identify specific risk scenarios using historical scenarios and/or hypothetical scenarios in relation to the different risk categories referred to in paragraph 1.
1. The specific risk scenarios referred to in paragraph 2 shall be well-defined and their potential impact shall be quantifiable.
1. When identifying specific risks, issuers of asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens shall specify a time horizon for 3 years for the risk events relating to the solvency stress test and up to 1 year for the liquidity stress test, the asset at risk and a precise description of the risk scenario.
1. Issuers of asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens shall quantify or have approximate estimations of the severity and plausibility of the stress scenarios identified as well as the potential losses coming from those scenarios.