EU plans to strengthen centralized supervision of crypto exchanges and stock markets
The European Union is considering strengthening central supervision of stock exchanges and cryptocurrency platforms to increase the bloc’s competitiveness compared to the United States. This is reported by the Financial Times.
The initiative is part of a plan to create a Capital Markets Union – a single capital market, which should simplify companies’ access to financing within the EU. Currently, dozens of national regulators and hundreds of trading and clearing structures complicate cross-border transactions, creating barriers to business development and the scaling of startups.
The European Commission is expected to present a package of measures on financial market integration in December, which will include expanding the powers of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). The new rules could give ESMA the ability to directly supervise the largest cross-border market participants, including crypto exchanges.
However, not all member states support the idea of centralizing control. In particular, Luxembourg and Ireland have expressed concerns that the transfer of supranational powers could weaken the position of their national financial centers.
“We are seeking to harmonize supervision, not to create an expensive and inefficient centralized model”, said Luxembourg Finance Minister Gilles Roth.
At the same time, the European Central Bank has received support in its efforts to introduce a ban on stablecoins that are issued simultaneously in the EU and other jurisdictions. The European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), responsible for the stability of Europe’s financial system, has approved a recommendation to ban multiple-issue stablecoins.
