ESMA publishes second consultation on crypto market rules

ESMA has published the second consultation package regarding MiCA, aiming to gather feedback from stakeholders on six draft RTS and two draft ITS, covering sustainability indicators for distributed ledgers, disclosures of inside information, technical requirements for white papers, trade transparency measures, and record-keeping and business continuity requirements for CASPs.
ESMA plans to issue a final report based on the feedback received and submit draft technical standards to the EC for endorsement by 30 June 2024, at the latest. A third consultation package with the remaining 18-month mandates is also anticipated in Q1 2024.
The consultation document delves into several important aspects, including sustainability indicators for adverse climate and environmental impacts (RTS), continuity and regularity in the performance of crypto services (RTS), pre- and post-trade data disclosure (RTS), content and format of order book records (RTS), record-keeping obligations for CASPs (RTS), the machine readability of white papers (ITS) and their classification (RTS), and technical means for appropriate public disclosure of inside information (ITS). These measures aim to promote transparency and environmental responsibility within the crypto market.
ESMA acknowledges the challenges related to collecting granular sustainability data for crypto-assets, especially for public and permissionless consensus mechanisms. They propose that entities subject to disclosure requirements can use estimates when data is not readily available. To improve data reliability and availability, ESMA suggests coordination among entities drawing up crypto-asset white papers and CASPs.
The consultation also highlights the importance of coherence, complementarity, consistency, and proportionality in these sustainability disclosure requirements, ensuring they align with existing sustainability reporting frameworks and the specific characteristics of different consensus mechanisms.