EU Regulator Concerned About ‘Risky’ Crypto Markets

The chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Verena Ross, warns that the recent crypto market crash should serve as a “cautionary lesson” for investors. She also doubts whether most of the crypto assets will be able to survive.

With the crypto markets having lost nearly 70% of its value in eight months time, Ross tells investors to be careful. As reported in the Financial Times on Sunday, she emphasized that there is no protection for retail investors:

“We already warned earlier this year . . . about the serious risks retail investors were taking investing in some of the crypto assets.”

As outlined in the provisional agreement on the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) proposal, the ESMA will be responsible for licensing crypto asset service providers. MiCA is set to be enforced from mid-2023 with an 18-month implementation period.

EMSA will have far reaching powers and has the authority to ban or restrict crypto platforms in case they do not properly protect investors, or impose a threat to market integrity or financial stability.

Ross is particularly concerned about small investors losing money, citing that the global crypto market has lost a significant chunk of value since last year. Commenting on the recent collapse of the Terra ecosystem, leaving many investors empty-handed, she said:

“I think there is a real question about whether many of these [crypto assets] will survive.”