Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized Issue 1 2025

2 QUICK LINKS AIFMD CRYPTOASSETS EMIR FINTECH MIFID II/MIFIR MMF NBFI OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE SUSTAINABLE FINANCE/ESG ASIA IRELAND LUXEMBOURG NETHERLANDS NORTH AMERICA UNITED KINGDOM Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized | Issue 1 | 2025 • Guidelines on reverse solicitation that confirm ESMA’s previous message that the reverse solicitation exemption should be understood as very narrowly framed and should be regarded as the exception and not be used to circumvent MiCA requirements. This exemption only applies to cases where the client is the exclusive initiator of the service. Guidance is provided on the limited circumstances where this may be the case. • Guidelines on suitability that specify how crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) providing advice on crypto-assets or portfolio management of crypto-assets have to give suitable recommendations to their clients or make suitable investment decisions on their behalf. These rules are aligned with the MiFID II requirements so that CASPs providing advice both under MiFID II and MiCA would be subject to similar requirements. • Guidelines on crypto-asset transfer services that aim at ensuring investor protection for clients transferring crypto-assets, by specifying the policies and procedures that CASPs should have in place. • Guidelines on qualification of crypto-assets as financial instruments who provide conditions and criteria for the qualification of crypto-assets as financial instruments. The guidelines aim to provide more clarity about the delineation between the respective scopes of application of MiCA and other sectoral regulatory frameworks (notably MiFID II). • Guidelines on themaintenance of systems and security access protocols that apply to offerors and persons seeking admission to trading who are not subject to the same operational resilience standards under MiCA and DORA as their CASP and issuer counterparts. Therefore, the guidelines provide for a streamlined set of principles for entities in scope tomanage their ICT risks. The guidelines will be translated into the official EU languages and published on the ESMA website. They will apply from three months after the publication of the translations. The final reports with the draft RTS have been submitted to the European Commission for adoption. Link to ESMA Policy Documents here DP24/4: Regulating Cryptoassets – Admissions & Disclosures and Market Abuse Regime for Cryptoassets On 16 December 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a discussion paper (DP) seeking feedback to help develop the FCA’s approach to cryptoasset Admissions and Disclosures (A&D) and the Market Abuse Regime for Cryptoassets (MARC). The FCA says the proposals aim to reduce risks without stifling growth and innovation. The FCA aims to reduce consumer harms and promote confidence and trust in the UK cryptoasset market by: • Improving regulatory clarity so that there are clear and consistent ‘rules of the game’ for firms and consumers; • Making sure consumers have the information they need before buying or selling cryptoassets; • Requiring controls and processes to bring about fair and orderly trading conditions; and • Further reducing risks of money laundering and losses to fraud. The FCA aims to promote long-term investment and innovation in the UK. The FCA says it has engaged with industry to inform the development of its rules for the A&D and MARC regimes. The FCA seeks feedback from domestic and international stakeholders to shape the final policy proposals. The period for comments ends on 14 March 2025. Link to DP24/4 here ESAs Provide Guidelines to Facilitate Consistency in the Regulatory Classification of Crypto- assets by Industry and Supervisors On 10 December 2024, the three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – the ESAs) published joint Guidelines intended to facilitate consistency in the regulatory classification of crypto-assets under MiCAR. The Guidelines include a standardised test to promote a common approach to classification as well as templates market participants should use when communicating to supervisors the regulatory classification of a crypto-asset.