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European Securities and Markets Authority

EU authority supervising securities markets and crypto-asset service providers across member states, enforcing the MiCA regulatory framework.

Known aliases

  • ESMA
  • European Securities and Markets Authority

Current stories

investConfirmed4 publishers

BingX EU wins Austrian MiCA license 105 days after the transition period ended

Austria's FMA has authorized BingX EU under MiCA for 29 EEA countries, 105 days after the July 1 end of the transition period. With no launch date set, European customers cannot yet act on it, Cryptobriefing reported.

Perspective Coverage

4 publishers
Builder
Builder 15%
Operator
Operator 48%
Investor
Investor 37%

Reality

Evidence66
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+15
Incentives55
Confidence68
investOne report1 publisher

German regulators handed banks about 41 of Europe's 72 MiCA approvals in the third quarter

German regulators issued 42 of the 72 MiCA authorizations granted across Europe in the third quarter, according to FinPlanet. All but one went to banks, yet the 65 banks in FinPlanet's count are under a fifth of the 363 licensed entities.

Reality

Evidence42
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+8
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence50
investOne report1 publisher

ESMA tells MiCA-authorised crypto firms to drop non-compliant stablecoins by 8 January 2027

ESMA told national regulators to have MiCA-authorised crypto firms stop servicing non-compliant stablecoins by 8 January 2027. The notice is supervisory guidance, so the date binds only as far as each national authority enforces it.

Publishers:thepaypers.com

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+10
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence55
investConfirmed4 publishers

IMF puts tokenized repo at $300 billion to $350 billion a day

Tokenized repurchase agreements average $300 billion to $350 billion a day, the IMF said in its October 8 Global Financial Stability Report. Against the $13 trillion a day some analyses cite for US repo, that comes to 2 to 3 percent of the flow, on venues the fund calls fragmented and short of legal clarity.

Perspective Coverage

4 publishers
Builder
Builder 25%
Operator
Operator 34%
Investor
Investor 41%

Reality

Evidence60
Adoption30
Hype gap+10
Incentives40
Confidence62
investConfirmed4 publishers

ESMA tests whether EU clearing houses can sell tokenized collateral when a member defaults

ESMA opened a call for evidence on October 9 asking whether EU clearing houses can turn tokenized collateral into cash when a member defaults. Responses close January 15, 2027, Crypto Briefing reported, and ESMA has one live clearing-house service to test the question against.

Perspective Coverage

4 publishers
Builder
Builder 20%
Operator
Operator 49%
Investor
Investor 31%

Reality

Evidence70
Adoption15
Hype gap+10
Incentives40
Confidence68
investConfirmed8 publishers

ESMA gives MiCA-authorized crypto firms until Jan. 8, 2027 to exit non-compliant stablecoins

ESMA told national regulators to make MiCA-authorized crypto firms clear their remaining exposure to non-compliant stablecoins by Jan. 8, 2027. New buying stops first, so the three months are an exit window in which platforms find out whether client balances get converted in-house or withdrawn.

Perspective Coverage

8 publishers
Builder
Builder 19%
Operator
Operator 51%
Investor
Investor 30%

Reality

Evidence85
Adoption55
Hype gap+10
Incentives30
Confidence80
investOne report1 publisher

ESMA gives EU crypto platforms three months to remediate noncompliant stablecoin positions

ESMA's October 8 opinion tells EU supervisors to make licensed crypto firms stop custody and transfers of unauthorised stablecoins within three months. MiCA enforcement now reaches the balances platforms still hold, though each national supervisor decides how leftovers are unwound.

Publishers:crypto.news

Reality

Evidence50
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap0
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence55
investConfirmed2 publishers

Most of Washington's $215 million quantum prize pays only after teams reach 100 logical qubits

President Trump's administration put up to $215 million behind a fault-tolerant quantum computing contest in a science package of more than $6 billion. Nearly all of it pays out only after a team has a working error-corrected machine, so startups still fund the build privately.

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+35
Incentives40
Confidence58
scienceConfirmed5 publishers

Circle urges the EU to replace MiCA's bank-deposit minimum for stablecoin reserves

Circle told the European Commission that only 3 of the world's top 25 stablecoins are authorized under MiCA, in its response to the law's review. Circle issues two of the three, and it ties the gap to bank-deposit and concentration rules it wants loosened.

Perspective Coverage

5 publishers
Builder
Builder 18%
Operator
Operator 42%
Investor
Investor 40%

Reality

Evidence60
Adoption30
Hype gap+20
Incentives80
Confidence65
investConfirmed9 publishers

Four EU regulators question how Binance keeps European customers through a MiCA exemption

ESMA and regulators in France, Germany and Greece are examining how Binance still serves EU users without the MiCA license it needed by July 1. The inquiry tests whether a narrow exemption can hold an exchange's European business while it waits for authorization.

Perspective Coverage

12 publishers
Builder
Builder 12%
Operator
Operator 52%
Investor
Investor 36%

Reality

Evidence50
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+15
Incentives55
Confidence55
investOne report1 publisher

ESMA wants EU custodians barred from holding non-compliant stablecoins

ESMA asked the European Commission on September 30 to extend MiCA's ban on non-compliant stablecoins to custody and transfers. Holders who kept such tokens with EU custodians after the 2025 delistings would lose that last licensed option.

Publishers:cryptoslate.com

Reality

Evidence58
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap0
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence55
leadershipOne report1 publisher

FCA turns to international regulators as Polymarket takes bets on HSBC and Lloyds failing

Polymarket has taken $77,507 in positions on whether the world's biggest banks, HSBC and Lloyds among them, fail by year-end. For British lenders the exposure is how fast that price could travel on social media during a period of stress.

Publishers:theguardian.com

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption10
Hype gap+35
Incentives60
Confidence50
investOne report1 publisher

Europe's central banks ask Brussels to extend MiCA's stablecoin yield ban to lending and staking

Europe's central banks asked Brussels to extend MiCA's stablecoin interest ban to lending and staking, a move a campaign says 50,000-plus citizens opposed. A ban that reaches borrower-paid returns could leave euro-regulated tokens unable to match perks offered by dollar stablecoins.

Reality

Evidence40
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+20
Incentives70
Confidence50
scienceOne report1 publisher

European regulators question Binance's reliance on MiCA's reverse-solicitation exemption

ESMA and French, German and Greek regulators are examining Binance's use of MiCA's reverse-solicitation exemption after it missed the July 1 licence deadline. Whether that deadline binds now depends on proving who initiated each customer relationship.

Publishers:cryptotimes.io

Reality

Evidence45
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+10
Incentives55
Confidence40
investOne report1 publisher

ESMA would license the exchanges and wallets that route EU users into DeFi

ESMA proposed a new regulated MiCA service for firms that give users access to DeFi, a sector the EBA and ESMA put at about 4% of global crypto value. Exchanges and wallet apps serving EU users would carry the compliance cost, while the protocol code itself stays outside the regime.

Reality

Evidence45
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+20
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence40
investOne report1 publisher

ESMA seeks power to freeze crypto assets on 'reasonable grounds' in its MiCA review

ESMA asked the European Commission's MiCA review on September 30 for power to freeze crypto assets on 'reasonable grounds' and block scam websites. Unlicensed offshore firms courting EU customers face the most risk, and licensed providers would carry new marketing curbs.

Reality

Evidence40
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+10
Incentives55
Confidence45
investOne report1 publisher

Forging a 1024-bit RSA signature through an HSM costs under 0.3% of factoring the key

UC San Diego and Inria researchers forged a 1024-bit RSA signature through an HSM in 1,380 core-years, against at least 500,000 to factor the key. The attack only works with raw, unpadded signing access, so how exposed a custodian is depends on how its HSM is configured.

Reality

Evidence58
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+12
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence52
investOne report1 publisher

European Banking Authority asks the Commission to weigh bringing crypto lending under MiCA

EBA asks the European Commission to weigh bringing crypto lending, found in at least 16 member states, under MiCA's regulated services. Its formal request is a cost-benefit study first, so suitability tests and leverage caps remain options.

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption30
Hype gap+15
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence50
investOne report1 publisher

All 11 Banking Democrats ask Tim Scott to move the Kalshi conversation into a public hearing

Combined Kalshi and Polymarket volume reached $53 billion in July, an annual pace above Bernstein's forecast for all of 2026, and Senate Banking Democrats say contracts tied to corporate metrics belong to the SEC.

Reality

Evidence58
Adoption68
Hype gap+12
Incentives72
Confidence57

Earlier coverage