esma

According to Cointelegraph, the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and the European Securities and Markets Authority are jointly soliciting nominations for a working group led by the industry, which will establish unified standards for the holding and settlement of tokenized securities.Eligible applicants include EU industry associations, global institutions, private enterprises, and fintech companies, which can apply to join the European Tokenized Standards Group (ETSG) by November 27. The relevant work will commence in January 2027, with the aforementioned three EU institutions participating as observers.The working group will develop technical and market standards to assist businesses in holding and settling tokenized securities across different Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platforms, ensuring that these platforms can be compatible with existing financial systems.According to its scope of responsibilities, the working group plans to produce the first set of standards by early 2028. These standards will support Appia, which is the blueprint for the European tokenized financial market developed by the euro system.The three institutions warned that market fragmentation could limit the benefits brought by tokenization, and the working group may propose recommendations on how EU regulators can encourage businesses to adopt its standards. In September of this year, the euro system launched the Pontes system, allowing financial institutions to settle wholesale transactions of tokenized assets in central bank money.

According to the regional service restriction notice released by MEXC on October 21, the exchange is gradually exiting the Dutch market, requiring local users to transfer their assets by October 31, and plans to complete the exit by November 16.MEXC confirmed that it has not yet obtained EU MiCA authorization. Previously, due to providing cryptocurrency asset services in the Netherlands without permission, the exchange was listed on the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) temporary list of non-compliant entities.Earlier, on October 20, MEXC announced the cessation of services to users in Russia and Belarus. Its user agreement also lists 13 countries and regions, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, and mainland China, as prohibited service areas.

According to Cointelegraph, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has added nine crypto asset service providers (CASP) to the registration list of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), including the Austrian entity MEGE zweite of BingX, the Italian subsidiary of YouHodler, and Openbank Deutschland under Santander, bringing the total number of registered CASPs to 375.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has released a consultation document to gather feedback from the industry on the risks associated with tokenized collateral in terms of legality, liquidity, and operations. This is to assess whether clearinghouses can acquire and liquidate relevant assets under market pressure and to determine if new EU regulatory measures are needed. ESMA Chair Verena Ross stated that legal certainty, infrastructure interoperability, and appropriate regulation are necessary to create conditions for the safe cross-border operation and scalable development of the tokenized market.Tokenized collateral is entering the European clearing business, allowing banks and investors to more quickly obtain securities to meet margin requirements. This assessment will also review whether current EU rules can support clearinghouses in acquiring and clearing tokenized collateral in the event of member defaults. In July 2025, Eurex Clearing will launch a collateral service based on distributed ledger technology, and JPMorgan has completed its first real-time transaction for Dutch pension investor PGGM.ESMA will also evaluate the tokenized forms of assets held by traditional financial infrastructure, assets originally issued on distributed ledgers, and their relationship with stablecoins, central bank currencies, and tokenized deposits. The European Central Bank system will launch Pontes in September 2025 for settling tokenized asset transactions in central bank currency, which can connect blockchain infrastructure with existing settlement systems.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued an opinion requiring EU crypto firms to stop providing services involving stablecoins that do not comply with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework, and has given a three-month deadline to address existing risk exposures. ESMA stated on Thursday that national regulators should require relevant firms to promptly address any remaining exposure to non-compliant stablecoins, no later than January 8, 2027.The guidance applies to crypto services regulated under MiCA, including trading platforms, exchange services, order execution, custody, transfers, investment advice, and portfolio management. ESMA stated that crypto firms should implement technical, contractual, and organizational controls to prevent EU customers from obtaining or increasing exposure to unauthorized stablecoins.Regulators may allow limited services to assist customers in exiting existing positions, including liquidation, exchange, withdrawal, transfer, and custody, but such activities must be temporary and closely monitored. This update expands on the guidance issued by ESMA in January 2025, when it required restrictions on trading and exchange services involving non-compliant stablecoins.

Austrian cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda's co-CEO Christian Trummer stated in Cointelegraph's Chain Reaction program that with the implementation of the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), European crypto users' trust in regulated platforms has increased. He pointed out that most users trust regulated market participants more than managing private keys themselves.Trummer described the preference for self-custody as a small circle focused on "Crypto Twitter," believing that most users are more inclined to choose regulated service providers. He also called on regulators to enforce MiCA more strictly, stating that some companies are still providing services to European customers without obtaining a MiCA license, putting compliant businesses at a competitive disadvantage.The transition period for existing crypto service providers under MiCA ended no later than July 1, and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) instructed national regulators to take action against unauthorized companies that continue to provide crypto services after the transition period. ESMA subsequently called for stronger regulatory powers to address unauthorized crypto services and third-country companies soliciting business from EU investors without MiCA authorization.

According to Cointelegraph, ESMA submitted a proposal to the European Commission to amend MiCA, aiming to establish a new category of regulated crypto services for companies providing access to DeFi protocols, while also strengthening regulatory requirements for staking, crypto lending, and non-compliant stablecoin-related services.

According to Cointelegraph, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has released its work plan for 2027, which will coordinate the regulation of Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASP) across countries, focusing on operational resilience, outsourcing risks, liquidity, reverse solicitation, and asset classification. ESMA Chair Verena Ross stated that the focus of MiCA has shifted from rule-making to regulation and convergence.ESMA intends to unify the reports that CASPs submit regularly to national regulatory authorities and promote common risk indicators and regulatory dashboards. ESMA will advance the centralized crypto market monitoring system MIDAS, which will be used to monitor potential market abuse under the MiCA framework.The first phase of the system is expected to be fully operational by 2027. ESMA plans to enhance the analytical capabilities of MIDAS and expand the types of data available in the fourth quarter, pending approval from the Council, while incorporating regulatory experience into the European Commission's MiCA review expected to be completed by June 2027.

According to an analysis by Cointelegraph of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) MiCA registration data, the number of banks on the EU MiCA crypto service provider list has doubled from about 40 on June 26 to about 80 on September 16, with the proportion rising from about 17% to nearly 23%, approaching one-quarter. During the same period, the total number of registered Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASP) increased from 243 to 349, but the proportion of non-bank service providers decreased from about 84% to 77%, reflecting a relative shrinkage.Germany is the main driving force behind this round of bank expansion, with several cooperative banks and commercial banks recently appearing on ESMA's MiCA registration list, including Volksbank, Raiffeisenbank, and VR Bank. Germany's largest bank, Deutsche Bank, also announced on Wednesday plans to launch digital asset custody services for institutional and corporate clients in Europe. A spokesperson for the bank told Cointelegraph that regulatory approval under MiCA is expected in October.Unlike crypto companies that need to apply for CASP authorization, banks can provide crypto asset services through the notification procedure stipulated in Article 60 of MiCA, allowing them to bypass the standard CASP authorization process by simply submitting the required information to their national regulatory authority at least 40 working days before offering the service for the first time.

According to Ledger Insights, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) recently published the "Trends, Risks, and Vulnerabilities Report for the First Half of 2026," in which digital assets and prediction markets occupy three chapters. Regarding crypto assets, the report warns that the increasing ties between cryptocurrencies and the traditional financial sector pose risks. Concerning tokenization, the report points out that issuing different tokenized versions of the same stock may lead to fragmented liquidity.As for prediction markets, the report believes that prediction markets have not yet seen significant development in Europe. This is because major platforms do not yet hold EU licenses, and in most cases, they need to obtain licenses. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) outlines some potential advantages of tokenization, including increased efficiency, expanded investor access, programmability, and atomic settlement. On the other hand, ESMA also questions how much these advantages are actually realized within these encapsulated structures.Since the ownership of the underlying stocks is off-chain, there is no single data source on-chain, and self-custody can only be achieved indirectly through these structures. Tokenization structures also introduce additional layers of intermediaries, leading to complexity and risk. The settlement advantages are also difficult to realize. Even if token transfers occur on-chain, the cash portion of the transaction is usually settled separately, whether through bank payments or other channels. This means that for certain transactions, the promised atomic settlement (i.e., simultaneous delivery of securities and cash) has not yet been achieved.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) stated in its latest risk report that major prediction market platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi have not obtained the necessary authorization to provide event contract services in the EU, and some platforms only restrict users from certain EU countries. ESMA questioned the effectiveness of their geographical restrictions and VPN blocking measures.ESMA pointed out that event contracts may be classified as financial instruments based on their specific structure, fall under the MiCA framework, or be regulated by member states' betting regulations. If classified as financial instruments, their marketing, distribution, and sale to retail investors are generally subject to existing binary options restrictions.

On July 31, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) updated the registration list for the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), adding 12 companies. This is the fourth update since the transition deadline on July 1, bringing the total number of authorized Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASP) under MiCA to 321.The newly added entities include three cooperative banks from Germany: Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Oberbayern Südost, VR Bank Schleswig-Holstein Mitte, and VR-Bank Landau-Mengkofen; Spain's Basque Pay and Fintech Payments; as well as France's Finary, Woorton, Blockchain Process Security, and Shares Financial Assets. ESMA also added Cervo Rendisco, Flandenzo, and Corona Fondenza to the list of non-compliant entities, with the relevant markings coming from the Italian securities regulator Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB). The non-compliant entity list currently contains 167 items.This update did not involve any other changes to the MiCA-related registration lists. The number of authorized Electronic Money Token (EMT) issuers remains at 41, and there are currently no entities on the registration list for Asset-Referenced Tokens (ART).

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) updated the temporary MiCA registration list on Friday, adding 15 licensed Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASP), bringing the total to 309. The newly added institutions include BNY SA/NV, the Belgian subsidiary of the American banking giant BNY Mellon.The new list includes 4 banking institutions, of which 3 are from Germany, along with digital asset platforms such as BitPay, Coinify, and Bleap. Germany and Denmark each added 3 CASPs, Bulgaria and Latvia each added 2, and Belgium, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, and the Netherlands each added 1. ESMA stated that this update did not change other MiCA-related registration lists, including Asset-Referenced Tokens (ART), Electronic Money Tokens (EMT), and authorized issuers of crypto assets, as well as the list of non-compliant entities. Previously, after the transition period deadline on July 1, ESMA's second update had added 14 CASPs, including Ripple Payments Europe.

ESMA has included 14 new cryptocurrency companies, including Ripple Payments Europe, in its MiCA registration list, bringing the total number of licensed cryptocurrency service providers to 294.

According to Cointelegraph, the transitional period for the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) will end on July 1, 2026.The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) stated that at that time, crypto asset service providers that have not obtained MiCA authorization, even if their applications are still under review, will not be allowed to continue providing services to EU customers and should initiate business winding down and customer migration arrangements.

According to the proposal, the regulatory authority over cross-border institutions that are systemically important will be transferred from the competent authorities of each member state to ESMA, covering large CASPs, trading venues, central counterparties, and central securities depositories. This is the most significant structural adjustment to the EU's crypto regulatory framework since the full implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) for CASPs at the end of 2024.Under the current MiCA framework, the national competent authorities act as the frontline regulators, while ESMA plays only a coordinating role.

According to a report by Reuters, the European Central Bank recently stated its support for the European Commission's push to transfer regulatory authority over systemically important cross-border financial market participants, such as cryptocurrency service providers, major trading venues, central counterparties, and central securities depositories, from national regulators to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). This initiative aims to deepen the integration of the EU capital markets and enhance overall competitiveness.The European Central Bank suggested that the ESMA Board establish a non-voting central bank seat and emphasized that ESMA needs to obtain sufficient resources and personnel to smoothly take over the new responsibilities. The relevant proposal will be negotiated by EU member states and the European Parliament, and it is expected to take several months to finalize legislation.

Israeli military spokesman: We are prepared to launch military operations against Iran for several weeks.

The Israeli military spokesperson stated that there are currently no plans for a ground offensive against Lebanon and indicated that military deployments on the Israeli side of the border have been expanded, rather than entering Lebanese territory.

The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Baghaei, stated on the evening of February 28 that Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Raisi are both "safe and sound." Baghaei made this statement during interviews with ABC News and Sky News. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered a speech that evening, claiming that there are increasing signs that Khamenei "is no longer alive." Israeli media subsequently cited reports from senior officials indicating that Khamenei "has passed away." (Xinhua)