The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – the ESAs) today published a consultation paper on Guidelines under Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCA), establishing templates for explanations and legal opinions regarding the classification of crypto-assets along with a standardised test to foster a common approach to classification.

To support market participants and supervisors in adopting a convergent approach to the classification of crypto-assets, the Guidelines propose a standardised test, as well as templates for explanations and legal opinions that provide descriptions of the regulatory classification of crypto-assets in the following cases:

Asset-referenced tokens (ARTs): The white paper for the issuance of ARTs, which contains comprehensive information about the crypto asset, must be accompanied by a legal opinion that explains the classification of the crypto asset – in particular, the fact it is not an EMT nor a crypto-asset that could be considered excluded from the scope of MiCA
Crypto-assets that are not ARTs or EMTs under MiCA: The white paper for the crypto-asset must be accompanied by an explanation of the classification of the crypto asset – in particular, the fact it is not an EMT, ART or crypto-asset excluded from the scope of MiCA.
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