The European Securities and Markets Authority is turning its attention from writing the rules of Europe's crypto regime to making sure they are applied evenly across the bloc. Verena Ross, the agency's chief, told the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Monday that ESMA's work under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation is entering a new phase, one focused on supervision rather than rule-setting.
The statement came alongside the publication of ESMA's 2027 work programme, which sets out how the authority intends to police crypto markets once the bulk of MiCA's technical standards are in place.
Operational risk and outsourcing under scrutiny
According to the work programme, ESMA's supervisory efforts will concentrate on operational stability and the risks that arise when crypto firms outsource critical services to third parties. The agency is also reviewing how firms manage liquidity and is examining the legal classification of individual crypto assets, a question that has repeatedly complicated enforcement across member states with differing national interpretations.
Particular scrutiny is being placed on reverse solicitation, the exception under MiCA that allows providers based outside the EU to serve European customers without holding a local licence, provided the customer initiated the contact. ESMA is requiring crypto firms to demonstrate a tangible presence within the EU, a move aimed at closing gaps that could otherwise let non-EU platforms operate in the bloc without proper authorisation.
Common standards and a new monitoring platform
To reduce inconsistency among national regulators, ESMA is introducing uniform reporting standards and risk indicators intended to make supervisory practices comparable across member states. The authority is also developing MIDAS, a platform designed to screen trading venues for unfair practices. Its start phase is planned for 2027, with expanded tools to follow once the supervisory board approves them in the fourth quarter.
For firms operating across the EU, the shift signals that the period of adapting to new technical standards is giving way to one of closer, more standardised oversight, with less tolerance for regulatory arbitrage between jurisdictions.
A review that could reshape MiCA itself
The European Commission's own review of MiCA is expected by June 2027 and could result in a new legislative proposal. That timeline places ESMA's supervisory build-out on a collision course with a possible overhaul of the framework it is tasked with enforcing, leaving open the question of how much of the current supervisory architecture will still apply once the Commission's assessment is complete.
