In December 2019, the European Commission published a Consultation Document on an E.U. framework for markets in cryptoassets (the “Consultation”). The Consultation follows up on Advice published by ESMA in January 2019, stating that while some cryptoassets fall within the scope of E.U. legislation, effectively applying it to these assets is not always straightforward, and on analysis by the EBA and ESMA highlighting that most cryptoassets are outside the scope of E.U. legislation. In this context, the Consultation covers three broad areas: (1) whether and how to classify cryptoassets; (2) cryptoassets that currently fall outside the scope of the E.U. financial services legislation; and (3) cryptoassets that currently fall within the scope of E.U. legislation.
The FMLC has drafted a response to the Consultation in the form of two complementary reports, which were submitted as appendices to the questionnaire. Part I comprises comments drafted for the FMLC in-house, by the Secretariat, on the classification of cryptoassets. Part II comprises comments—gathered with the advice of members of the FinTech Scoping Forum—in response to the section of the Consultation dealing with cryptoassets which fall within the E.U. regulatory perimeter.