MiCA Shifts From Rulemaking to Supervision as ESMA Sets 2027 Priorities

Europe’s securities regulator says its crypto work is moving from writing rules to overseeing how firms follow them, with a focus on resilience, outsourcing and real operations inside the bloc.

ESMA 2027 Work Program for Crypto Supervision

ESMA Chair Verena Ross told the European Parliament’s economic affairs committee on Monday that its role under the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) has moved “from rulemaking towards supervision and convergence.” She said the goal is to let innovation grow within a framework that gives firms clarity, investors safeguards and markets confidence.

Key Focus Areas for CASP Oversight

ESMA plans to strengthen coordination among national regulators that supervise crypto asset service providers (CASPs). Priorities include operational resilience, outsourcing risks, liquidity, reverse solicitation, asset classification and making sure firms keep enough operations inside the EU. It also wants to harmonize periodic reporting to national regulators and promote shared risk indicators and supervisory dashboards.

MIDAS Crypto Market Surveillance System

ESMA will keep building MIDAS, its centralized system for spotting possible market abuse under MiCA. The first phase should be fully running in 2027. A second phase, first flagged in February, will add analytical tools and more data types, with a rollout planned for the fourth quarter, pending board approval.

MiCA Review Coming by June 2027

ESMA will share its supervisory experience with the European Commission’s MiCA review, due by June 2027, and prepare for any legislative proposal that may follow.