Lisbon

The Lisbon DARTE session took place on February 28th, 2025, at Biblioteca Palácio Galveias, Lisbon. Organized with the support of the European Commission, Crypto Risk Metrics, and FIO Legal, this roundtable continued the series' mission of fostering legal clarity within MiCAR’s regulatory framework for crypto-assets. This session focused on reporting obligations under Article 66 (5) MiCAR, passporting processes according to Article 65 MiCAR, and key learnings from Layer-1 blockchain projects and airdrop whitepapers.

The session opened with welcome remarks from Dr. Nina-Luisa Siedler, setting the stage for an engaging agenda. Tim Zölitz, CEO of Crypto Risk Metrics, led the discussion on reporting obligations, addressing challenges related to disclosure placement and Digital Token Identifiers (DTIs). Luiza Rey, founder of FIO Legal, provided insights on passporting under MiCAR, highlighting administrative hurdles and regulatory gaps faced by CASPs, particularly in jurisdictions lacking designated National Competent Authorities (NCAs). Anthony Day from Midnight contributed valuable perspectives on the review and disclosure requirements for crypto-asset whitepapers, emphasizing cross-jurisdictional challenges and proposing practical solutions for compliance and transparency.

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Reporting Obligations According to Art. 66 (5) MiCAR

This session addressed the disclosure requirements for CASPs and crypto-asset whitepaper issuers regarding energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Key discussions revolved around practical implementation challenges, including ambiguity around the required "prominent placement" of disclosures and complexities arising from using multiple Digital Token Identifiers (DTIs) for the same crypto-asset across different blockchains.

Passporting Process According to Art. 65 MiCAR

This session highlighted challenges CASPs experience in passporting under MiCAR, particularly when Member States have not clearly designated their National Competent Authorities (NCAs). The discussion underscored operational uncertainties and regulatory gaps, specifically using Portugal as an illustrative case.

Call to Actions

Regulators should adopt and communicate a flexible yet explicit interpretation of the term "prominent place," ensuring CASPs can confidently implement disclosures across websites and mobile platforms.
Industry and regulators should standardize the use of downloadable files for initial sustainability disclosures and any subsequent material updates, enhancing clarity and transparency.
Regulators and industry stakeholders should implement the Functionally Fungible Group (FFG) approach to consolidate multiple DTIs, significantly simplifying reporting obligations and enhancing transparency for consumers.

Call to Actions

Member States must prioritize the prompt and explicit designation of their NCAs to eliminate uncertainty in the passporting notification process.
CASPs should proactively notify all potentially relevant national and EU regulatory bodies in jurisdictions lacking designated NCAs, ensuring continuous compliance and operational certainty.
ESMA and EBA should proactively support Member States by emphasizing the necessity for timely and explicit designation of NCAs, while providing regulatory consistency across Member States.

Learnings from L1s and Airdrop Whitepapers

This session focused on insights derived from Layer-1 blockchain projects and MiCAR’s disclosure requirements for crypto-asset whitepapers, emphasizing the complexities faced by non-EU entities when engaging EU regulators. Key discussions included addressing the mandated 20-day review period and defining appropriate levels of disclosure for blockchain infrastructure operators.

Call to Action

Regulators should establish explicit standards regarding required documentation and processes for non-EU entities submitting whitepapers, including clearly defined procedures for managing material changes during the regulatory review period.
Regulators, supported by industry collaboration, should develop a unified digital submission platform for crypto-asset whitepapers, streamlining the submission and feedback process across all EU NCAs and enhancing transparency.
Regulators should specify that disclosures related to infrastructure operators are required at the business-entity level, explicitly excluding individual operator details, thereby simplifying compliance and safeguarding privacy.