On 26 February 2025, the European Securities and Markets Authority (‘ESMA’) published the official translation of the Guidelines on procedures and policies, including the rights of clients, in the context of transfer services for crypto-assets under MiCA Regulation[1] on investor protection. These guidelines have been issued on the basis of the delegation set out in Article 82(2) of the MiCA Regulation.
Those guidelines shall require providers of transfer services for crypto-assets to establish, implement and maintain appropriate procedures and policies, including:
- provide clients with relevant information and conditions related to transfer services for crypto-assets (e.g. information on the characteristics of the transfer, the terms of service, fees, deadlines, irreversibility of the transfer and the manner and right to terminate the contract);
- execution times depending on the crypto-asset transferred and cut-off times for instructions for the transfer of crypto-assets;
- rejection or suspension of an instruction to transfer crypto-assets or return of crypto-asset transferred;
- the liability of the providers of transfer services for crypto-assets in the event of unauthorised or incorrectly executed or initiated transfers of crypto-assets.
The guidelines can be consulted at the following link:
https://www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2025-02/ESMA35-1872330276-2032_Guidelines_on_transfer_services_for_crypto-assets_under_MiCA.pdf
[1] Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on Markets in crypto-assets and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010 and Directives 2013/36/EU and (EU) 2019/1937 (OJ L 150 9.6.2023, p. 40).