The MiCAR Dublin Roundtable, hosted on November 25, 2024, at Trinity Business School, gathered experts from the regulatory and crypto sectors to address key challenges in crypto-asset service provider (CASP) compliance. Discussions covered sustainability disclosures, discrepancies between the FATF and EU regulations, and future reporting opportunities
CASP Sustainability Disclosure Requirements
Daniel Taylor from Zumo led the discussion on the operational challenges of MiCAR’s sustainability disclosures, a Day 1 compliance obligation under Article 66(5). Participants raised concerns about inconsistent enforcement across member states, regulatory arbitrage, and the lack of ESMA guidance on compliance pathways. Suggestions included industry collaboration for best practices, centralized guidance from ESMA to reduce jurisdictional disparities, and proportional implementation to support CASPs in meeting these requirements.
FATF and TFR Alignment
Tiburcio Sanz of Crystal Intelligence highlighted discrepancies between the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the EU’s Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR). Divergent thresholds and due diligence requirements create operational inefficiencies and jurisdictional inconsistencies for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). Solutions included introducing a “trust seal” to incentivize compliance, standardized counterparty cooperation protocols, and annual compliance reporting to enhance transparency and interoperability.
Sustainability Reporting Challenges
Taylor also facilitated a session on refining the MiCAR sustainability reporting template. Participants addressed ambiguities in technical classifications, the treatment of multi-chain assets, and proportionality in reporting obligations. They proposed integrating entity-based disclosures alongside asset-based ones to provide a more holistic view of CASP sustainability efforts. Alignment with broader EU frameworks like SFDR and CSRD was recommended to harmonize crypto-specific metrics with traditional financial standards.
Conclusion
The Dublin MiCAR Roundtable underscored the importance of harmonized regulation and industry-regulator collaboration to navigate compliance challenges. Centralized guidance, innovative solutions like SupTech, and proportional regulations are essential to achieving MiCAR’s goals while fostering innovation. Future updates to the regulatory framework should balance rigor with the competitiveness of the EU crypto market, ensuring it remains an attractive and compliant global hub.
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