Guidelines of the European Supervisory Authorities on MiCAR and the expectations of the National Bank of Belgium

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14 Boulevard de Berlaimont – 1000 Brussels
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Company number: 0203.201.340
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Communication
Reference: NBB_2025_07
Your correspondents:
Pauline Bégasse de Dhaem / Sarah Cheliout
+32 2 221 22 42 / +32 2 221 38 99 pauline.begassededhaem@nbb.be / sarah.cheliout@nbb.be Guidelines of the European Supervisory Authorities on the European Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCAR) and the expectations of the National Bank of Belgium Scope This communication is intended for

• credit institutions incorporated under Belgian law, as referred to in Article 1 §3(1) of the Banking
  Act;
• electronic money institutions referred to in Article 163(2) of the Act of 11 March 2018 on the legal
  status and supervision of payment institutions and electronic money institutions and access to the activity of payment service provider, to the activity of issuing electronic money and to payment systems;
• payment institutions referred to in Article 5 §1(6) of the Act of 11 March 2018 on the legal status
  and supervision of payment institutions and electronic money institutions and access to the activity of payment service provider, to the activity of issuing electronic money and to payment systems;
• stockbroking firms incorporated under Belgian law, as referred to in Article 2 of the Act of
  20 July 2022 on the legal status and supervision of stockbroking firms;
• insurance and reinsurance companies under Belgian law, with the exception of insurance
  companies as referred to in Articles 275, 276 or 294 of the law of 13 March 2016 on the legal status and supervision of insurance or reinsurance companies. Summary/Objectives This communication is intended to inform credit institutions, electronic money institutions, payment institutions, stockbroking firms and (re)insurance companies incorporated under Belgian law that carry out activities or offer services covered by Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on markets in Crypto-assets (hereinafter “MiCAR”) of the guidelines issued by the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) in connection with this regulation. It also clarifies certain expectations of the National Bank of Belgium (NBB). This communication, which concerns regulated entities already subject to prudential supervision by the NBB, is being issued pending adoption of the Belgian law transposing MiCAR, without prejudice to the allocation of powers arising from this regulation to be established therein. Furthermore, this communication is without prejudice to any future communications or circulars that may be issued by the FSMA concerning MiCAR or, more generally, activities and services related to crypto-assets. BanqueNationale Jank DE BELGIQUE VAN BELGIË Eurosystem

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Dear Sir or Madam,
Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on markets in crypto-assets (hereinafter “MiCAR”) entered into effect on 30 December 2024. MiCAR is intended to provide a harmonised framework for the risks associated with crypto-assets, thereby avoiding a proliferation of national legal frameworks in this area. MiCAR defines crypto-assets very broadly, in order to prevent a legal vacuum in this area. However, the regulation does not cover crypto-assets already subject to a regulatory framework, such as financial instruments governed by MiFiD II1. Furthermore, MiCAR differentiates between three types of crypto-assets: electronic money tokens (EMTs), asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and tokens that do not fall into either of these categories. The rules governing the public offering, issuance and request for admission to trading of these assets differ depending on the type of crypto-asset involved. MiCAR only governs certain activities and services relating to crypto-assets, namely the public offering, issuance, request for admission to trading and services on crypto-assets. MICAR includes prudential requirements for issuers, offerors and persons requesting admission to trading of certain crypto-assets, as well as transparency obligations, such as the publication of a white paper to inform investors. Stricter rules apply to issuers of EMTs and ARTs in view of the impact these could have on financial stability. MiCAR also imposes harmonised prudential rules and rules of conduct on providers of the ten crypto￾asset-related services listed in Article 3(1)(16) in the European Union, including the custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients, the placing of crypto-assets, and the portfolio management of crypto-assets. The European Supervisory Authorities were asked to provide guidance on certain aspects of MiCAR in the context of their respective remits. The Belgian legislation transposing MiCAR which, among other things, will designate the authority or authorities to perform the tasks and functions entrusted to the competent authorities by the regulation, has yet to be adopted. This communication is being published pending the adoption of this law and concerns regulated entities already subject to prudential supervision by the NBB, without prejudice to the allocation of powers arising from MiCAR to be set out in the national implementing legislation. It is without prejudice to any future communications or circulars by the FSMA concerning MiCAR or, more generally, activities and services related to crypto-assets. The purpose of this communication is to inform entities already subject to supervision by the NBB and that carry out activities or offer services falling within the scope of MiCAR of the expectations of the European Supervisory Authorities, as outlined in their guidelines, as well as of certain expectations of the NBB. To this end, this communication summarises the guidelines issued by the
European Supervisory Authorities, classifies each based on the type of market player, provides a brief description and indicates the NBB’s expectations. 1 Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments.

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I. Guidelines applicable to all participants in the crypto-assets market
a. Guidelines of the European Supervisory Authorities on the classification of crypto-assets under MiCAR The EBA, ESMA and EIOPA have published joint guidelines to ensure the consistent classification of crypto-assets under MiCAR. In particular, these guidelines include a standardised classification test, as well as templates which participants in crypto-asset markets should use to provide the explanation accompanying the white paper for the crypto-assets referred to in
Article 8(4) and the legal opinions on the qualification of ARTs referred to in Articles 17(1)(b)(ii)
and 18(2)(e) MiCAR. b. ESMA Guidelines on the conditions and criteria for qualifying crypto-assets as financial instruments These guidelines specify the conditions and criteria for determining whether crypto-assets qualify as financial instruments and therefore ensure uniform and consistent application of Article 2(4)(a) MiCAR, which provides that the regulation does not apply to financial instruments.
II. Guidelines applicable to offerors and persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets
other than ARTs and EMTs a. ESMA Guidelines specifying Union standards for the maintenance of systems and security access protocols for offerors and persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than ARTs and EMTs The purpose of these guidelines is to specify standards for the maintenance of systems and security access protocols, including policies and procedures, for offerors and persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than ARTs and EMTs. They contain measures concerning the organisation of offerors and persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than ARTs and EMTs, security measures concerning physical access and access protocols to computer networks and systems, and provisions on the management of cryptographic keys.
III. EBA Guidelines for issuers of ARTs and EMTs
a. Guidelines establishing the common reference parameters of the stress test scenarios for the liquidity stress tests referred to in Article 45(4) MiCAR These guidelines establish the common reference parameters of the stress test scenarios to be included in liquidity stress tests. MiCAR stipulates that these guidelines must be updated periodically to take account of the latest market developments. MiCAR requires issuers of significant ARTs (Article 45(4)) and electronic money institutions issuing significant EMTs (Article 58(1)(a)) to conduct regular liquidity stress tests. This obligation may be extended to issuers of ARTs that are not significant and to electronic money institutions issuing electronic money tokens that are not significant if required by the competent authority of the home Member State in accordance with Article 35(4) and 58(2) MiCAR.

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Based on the results of liquidity stress tests, the supervisory authority may decide to tighten the liquidity requirements for management of the reserve of assets and the minimum content of liquidity management policies and procedures. b. EBA Guidelines on recovery plans under Articles 46 and 55 MiCAR These guidelines specify the format of the recovery plan and the information to be provided under Articles 46 and 55 MiCAR. Issuers of ARTs and EMTs are required to draw up and maintain a recovery plan providing for measures to be taken by the issuer to restore compliance with the requirements applicable to the reserve of assets in cases where the issuer fails to comply with these requirements. This obligation applies to all issuers, regardless of whether the ARTS or EMTs are considered significant or not. The guidelines include provisions to avoid inconsistencies and overlaps with other recovery plans, drafted under MiCAR or other EU sectoral legislation.
c. EBA Guidelines on redemption plans under Articles 47 and 55 MiCAR
These guidelines concern issuers of both ARTs and EMTs when drawing up a redemption plan, as well as the competent authorities when assessing such a plan. They specify (a) the content of the redemption plan, (b) the periodicity for the review and update of such plans and (c) the triggers for implementation of the redemption plan which issuers of EMTs and ARTs must draw up and keep operational in accordance with Articles 47 and 55 MiCAR. d. EBA Guidelines on information to be reported by issuers of ARTs and EMTs These guidelines specify the information that issuers of ARTs and EMTs must provide to the competent authorities and the EBA and establish templates to this end. The templates include information on the number of holders, market capitalisation and composition of the reserve of assets, transactions per day, own funds, liquidity and the entities involved in the custody, operation or distribution of crypto-assets. The guidelines aim to ensure that competent authorities are able to monitor compliance by issuers of ARTs and EMTs with the requirements of MiCAR. In addition, the guidelines include common templates and instructions which issuers must use to collect data from relevant crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). These guidelines do not apply to issuers of EMTs which, under Article 1(4) and (5) of Directive 2009/110/EC, benefit from a limited network exemption. Indeed, pursuant to
Article 48(5) MiCAR, issuers of EMTs benefiting from the limited network exemption are excluded
from the application of Title IV of MiCAR but are nevertheless bound by the obligation to draw up a crypto-asset white paper and notify it to the competent authority in accordance with Article 51. On the other hand, the guidelines and their scope of application do not rule out the exchange of information and communication between the NBB and issuers on an ad hoc and/or ongoing basis.

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IV. Guidelines for issuers of ARTs only
EBA Guidelines on the minimum content of the governance arrangements for issuers of ARTs These guidelines specify the various governance arrangements set out in MiCAR, taking into account the principle of proportionality for issuers of ARTs. In particular, they specify the requirements relating to the tasks, responsibilities and functioning of the management body and the organisation of issuers of ARTs. The guidelines aim to ensure the sound management of all risks associated with the activities of issuers of ARTs, such as ML-FT risks, operational risks, including fraud, cyber and compliance risks. Finally, the “Background and rationale” section clarifies that credit institutions issuing ARTs must, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, comply with more specific or stricter requirements in this area, ensuring compliance with both sets of requirements.
V. Joint EBA and ESMA Guidelines for issuers of ARTs and CASPs
a. Joint EBA and ESMA guidelines on the suitability assessment of members of the management body of issuers of ARTs and CASPs In accordance with Articles 18(2)(i) and 62(2)(g) MiCAR, members of the management body of an ART issuer or CASP must be of sufficiently good repute and possess, individually and collectively, the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience. These guidelines specify the requirements for the suitability assessment of members of the management body of an issuer of ARTs or a CASP, including the assessment process and criteria. However, given that an equivalent suitability framework exists for credit institutions under Directive 2013/36/EU (CRD) and Directive 2014/65/EU (MiFID II), these guidelines are not addressed to credit institutions, which remain subject to the joint EBA and ESMA Guidelines on the suitability assessment of members of the management body and key function holders under CRD and MiFID II, or to investment firms providing solely crypto-asset services covered by their existing authorisation. b. Joint EBA and ESMA Guidelines on the suitability assessment of shareholders and members, whether direct or indirect, with qualifying holdings in issuers of ARTs and CASPs These joint guidelines are addressed to the competent authorities and are intended to specify the suitability assessment they are required to carry out for shareholders and members, whether direct or indirect, with qualifying holdings in issuers of ARTs and CASPs that are not credit institutions under Directive 2013/36/EU. In particular, the guidelines cover (i) assessment of the sufficiently good repute of shareholders or members with direct or indirect qualifying holdings, for purposes of granting authorisation as an issuer of ARTs or a CASP, (ii) assessment of the suitability of proposed acquirers of direct or indirect qualifying shareholdings in authorised issuers of ARTs or CASPs, (iii) the concepts of acting in concert, significant influence, indirect shareholder and decision to acquire.

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VI. ESMA Guidelines for CASPs
a. Guidelines on reverse solicitation
The purpose of these guidelines is to clarify the reverse solicitation exemption under MiCAR, pursuant to which third-country firms may provide a crypto-asset-related service to a client established or located in the EU without having been authorised under MiCAR if the service was initiated exclusively by the client. b. Guidelines on certain requirements of MiCAR on investor protection The purpose of these guidelines is to specify the content of various provisions of MiCAR on investor protection.
V. Expectations of the NBB regarding the notification of the provision of crypto-asset services
referred to in Article 60 MiCAR
Among other things, Article 60 MiCAR requires credit institutions, stockbroking firms and electronic money institutions seeking to provide crypto-asset services to notify the competent authority at least 40 working days before providing such services for the first time. This is a relatively short time period, given that the conduct of this type of activity is likely to change the risk profile of these institutions, which are subject to prudential supervision by the NBB. The NBB therefore expects these institutions to inform it sufficiently in advance, in the context of ongoing supervision, of their intention to provide crypto-asset services. A copy of this communication is being sent to the accredited statutory auditor(s) of your institution. Yours faithfully, Pierre Wunsch Governor