The European authorities and the EU Commission have issued several regulations and level three documents in preparation for the entry into force of MiCA. These include the following:

1. Six Delegated Regulations under MiCA

On 31 October 2024, the European Commission adopted the following six Delegated Regulations supplementing MiCA:

• Commission Delegated Regulation supplementing MiCA with regard to regulatory technical standards (RTS) specifying the procedure for the approval of a cryptoasset white paper (C(2024)6914). This Delegated Regulation reflects a mandate in Article 17(8) of MiCA.
• Commission Delegated Regulation supplementing MiCA with regard to RTS specifying the methodology to estimate the number and value of transactions associated to uses of asset-referenced tokens and of e-money tokens denominated in a currency that is not an official currency of a member state as a means of exchange (C(2024)6910). This Delegated Regulation reflects a mandate in Article 22(6) of MiCA.
• Commission Delegated Regulation supplementing MiCA with regard to RTS specifying the information to be included by certain financial entities in the notification of their intention to provide cryptoasset services (C(2024)6903). This Delegated Regulation reflects a mandate in Article 60(13) of MiCA.
• Commission Delegated Regulation supplementing MiCA with regard to RTS specifying the information to be included in an application for authorisation as a cryptoasset service provider (CASP) (C(2024)6904). This Delegated Regulation reflects a mandate in Article 62(5) of MiCA.
• Commission Delegated Regulation supplementing MiCA with regard to RTS on continuity and regularity in the performance of cryptoasset services (C(2024)7523). This Delegated Regulation reflects a mandate in Article 68(10) of MiCA.
• Commission Delegated Regulation supplementing MiCA with regard to RTS specifying the conditions for the establishment and functioning of consultative supervisory colleges (C(2024)6911). This Delegated Regulation reflects a mandate in Article 119(8) of MiCA.

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament will now scrutinise the Delegated Regulations. If neither objects, they will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force 20 days after their publication.

2. Commission Implementing Regulation on ITS on standard forms, templates and procedures for co-operation and exchange of information

On 26 November 2024, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2545 (Implementing Regulation) which contains implementing technical standards (ITS) supplementing MiCA, was published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 95 of MiCA mandates that competent authorities must collaborate for investigation, supervision, and enforcement purposes under MiCA. A specific provision, Article 95(11), grants the European Commission the authority to establish an Implementing Regulation that includes ITS for standardising forms, templates, and procedures for the cooperation and information exchange between competent authorities.

The ITS define the rules and procedures for:

• How competent authorities can request cooperation or information from each other, and how the authorities receiving such requests should respond.
• The process for requesting to take statements, initiate investigations, conduct on-site inspections, and provide unsolicited information.
• The specific forms and templates competent authorities must use for these activities.

The Implementing Regulation comes into force on 16 December 2024 (that is, 20 days after publication in the Official Journal).

3. Commission Implementing Regulation on ITS on forms, formats and templates for cryptoasset white papers

On 3 December 2024, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2984 (Implementing Regulation), which contains ITS supplementing MiCA relating to the forms, formats and templates for cryptoasset white papers, was published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The ITS focuses on Articles 6(11), 19(10), and 51(10) of MiCA, emphasising that issuers of cryptoassets, offerors, persons seeking admission to trading, and operators of trading platforms must ensure their cryptoasset white papers provide relevant information for investors to make informed decisions. Additionally, these white papers must be available in a machine-readable format. The goal is to ensure transparency and comparability of white papers through standardised templates. ESMA released its final report on the draft ITS in July 2024.

The Implementing Regulation was adopted by the Commission on 29 November 2024. It comes into force on 23 December 2024 (that is 20 days after publication in the Official Journal). It will apply from 23 December 2025.

4. ESAs final report on final guidelines on explanations, opinions and standardised test for classifying cryptoassets under MiCA

On 10 December 2024, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) (that is, the EBA, ESMA and EIOPA) published a final report (ESA 2024 28) on draft guidelines on templates for explanations and opinions, and the standardised test for cryptoassets, under Article 97(1) of MiCA.

The guidelines introduce a standardised test and templates aimed at unifying the approach to classifying cryptoassets. These templates assist market participants in reporting the regulatory classification of a cryptoasset to supervisors. Specifically, they cover asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and cryptoassets that do not fall under ARTs or EMTs as per MiCA regulations. A key requirement is that the issuance of white paper of any cryptoasset must be supported by a legal opinion detailing its regulatory classification.

The overall aim of these Guidelines is to promote convergence in classification for the consistent application of MiCA across the EU. In turn, this is intended to contribute to enhancing consumer/investor protection, securing a level playing field, and mitigating risks of regulatory arbitrage.

The guidelines will apply two months after the publication of their translations into all of the official EU languages.

5. ESMA final reports on third set of RTS and guidelines under MiCA

On 17 December 2024, ESMA published its third and last set of final reports containing draft RTS and final guidelines under MiCA, consisting of the following:

• Final report on draft RTS specifying certain requirements relating to the detection and prevention of market abuse under MiCA (ESMA75-453128700-1278).
• Final report on guidelines on reverse solicitation under MiCA (ESMA35-1872330276-1899).
• Final report on guidelines on the conditions and criteria for the qualification of cryptoassets as financial instruments (ESMA75453128700-1323).
• Final report on guidelines specifying EU standards on the maintenance of systems and security access protocols for offerors and persons seeking admission to trading of cryptoassets other than asset referenced tokens and e-money tokens (ESMA75-223375936-6089).
• Final report on guidelines specifying certain MiCA investor protection requirements (ESMA35-1872330276-1936).

The final report with the draft RTS has been submitted to the European Commission for adoption. The Commission will decide whether to adopt the RTS within three months.

The guidelines will be translated into the official EU languages and published on the ESMA website. Publication of the translations will trigger a two-month period during which competent authorities must notify ESMA whether they comply or intend to comply with the guidelines. The guidelines will apply from the date three months after publication of the translations.

6. EBA final report on guidelines on reporting templates under MiCA

On 18 December 2024, the EBA published its final report (EBA/GL/2024/16) on guidelines on templates to assist competent authorities in performing their supervisory duties regarding issuers' compliance under Titles III and IV of MiCA.

The guidelines are contained in section 3 of the report. They are addressed to competent authorities, issuers of ARTs and EMTs. They specify common templates and instructions for issuers to provide competent authorities and the EBA with the necessary information to cover identified reporting data gaps.

The guidelines also include common templates and instructions that issuers should use to collect the data they need from relevant cryptoasset service providers (CASPs).

The guidelines will apply two months after publication on the EBA website of the translations in the EU official languages.