The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a final report including draft regulatory technical standards on the requirements for policies and procedures applied by crypto-asset service providers in relation to conflicts of interest, as well as the details and methodology for the content of the disclosure of conflicts of interest (the ‘RTS’). According to Article 72 of MiCAR, crypto-asset service providers are required to implement and maintain effective policies and procedures to identify, prevent, manage and disclose conflicts of interest. They also have the obligation to disclose to their clients and prospective clients the general nature and sources of conflicts of interest and the steps taken to mitigate them.
The draft RTS elaborate on this requirement by defining, among other things, criteria for identifying conflicts of interest and potential situations and circumstances that affect the likelihood of occurrence of such conflicts. The draft RTS specify elements which must be taken into account in those policies and procedures, especially if the provider belongs to a group. The RTS also impose other requirements, including those related to remuneration procedures and policies and policies and procedures concerning personal transactions.
The RTS enter into force on the 20th day following their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
More details can be found here: https://www.esma.europa.eu/document/final-report-technical-standards-specifying-certain-requirements-relation-conflicts