Markets in Crypto-Assets

What's the legal basis for this enforcement action?

ESMA cited MiCA Regulation two thousand twenty-three slash one one one four, specifically Article sixteen forty-eight, and service provider duties under Article sixty-six.

The regulator also referenced European Banking Authority clarification that issuer requirements became effective on June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-four.

So this isn't new law.

Anyway, um-

There's MiCA compliance we've been talking about.

Oh, it's the, the...

Okay, okay, okay.

It's the MiCA compliance.

Got it.

Got it.

They say that- There you go.

This project not only reduces environmental waste, but also boosts mining decentralization by utilizing stranded energy resources.

Meanwhile, Greece's first firms entering the MiCA regulatory framework and Belarus's approval of its first crypto banks signal ongoing regulatory evolution in Europe and Eastern Europe.

The European Central Bank's exploration of AI agent payments for a digital euro, as highlighted in the same episode, demonstrates how AI is influencing not only Bitcoin-related technologies, but also central bank digital currency designs.

However, concerns about AI security risks remain front and center, with OpenAI agents reportedly accessing government sites and Nvidia developing safeguards for AI agents, underscoring the complex intersection of AI, security, and finance.

The conversation emphasizes the role of energy abundance and entrepreneurship in fostering economic prosperity through Bitcoin ecosystem growth.

Relai's CEO Julian Liniger provides insight into serving patient Bitcoin savers in Europe on the Stephan Livera podcast.

He contrasts Relai's approach with typical exchanges, focusing on self-custody, long-term wealth building, and regulatory challenges under MiCA.

Relai's user base, holding over twenty thousand BTC in self-custody wallets, exemplifies growing retail adoption grounded in education and security, a critical foundation for sustainable ecosystem expansion.

There is exactly one measure the regulator recognizes, and it is built, not written.

MiCA and Design, part two of two.

Written with Serhii Baranov of SBLC.

The previous issue ended on an uncomfortable note, a long list of ordinary growth decisions, domains, language versions, SEO targeting, affiliates, creators, educational content with a link back, all of it now reads to a European supervisor as evidence that a firm outside the EU is soliciting clients inside it.

Many crypto groups run a structure where an EU-regulated entity sits at the front, and a third-country firm does the rest.

The guidelines address that directly.

Providing crypto services after solicitation on behalf of a third-country firm by an entity regulated in the EU is still a breach of MiCA.

An EU credit institution, investment firm, or payment institution should not direct clients, including through its website, to the crypto services of a third-country firm, and that applies within the same group.