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ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority)

RegulationUpdated: January 15, 2025
Also known as: European Securities and Markets Authority

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AI RMF (AI Risk Management Framework)Asset SegregationBeneficial OwnershipBeneficiaryBIS (Bank for International Settlements)BSA (Bank Secrecy Act)CASP (Crypto-Asset Service Provider)CASP LicenseCFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission)Client AssetsData MinimizationDLT Pilot RegimeeIDAS 2.0FATF (Financial Action Task Force)FCA (Financial Conduct Authority)FEAT PrinciplesFinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network)FINMA (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority)FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority)FSB (Financial Stability Board)GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)High-Risk AI SystemHowey TestKYC (Know Your Customer)Market ManipulationMAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore)MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation)MiCA ComplianceMiFID IIOFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control)OriginatorPassportingPEP (Politically Exposed Person)PII (Personally Identifiable Information)Qualified CustodianQualified InvestorRetail InvestorRight to be ForgottenSAR (Suspicious Activity Report)SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)SOC 2 (Service Organization Control 2)Strict LiabilityTransaction MonitoringVARA (Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority)Virtual AssetVirtual Asset Service Provider (VASP)Wash Trading
EU agency coordinating securities regulation and supervising credit rating agencies and trade repositories

The European Securities and Markets Authority is an independent EU authority established in 2011 that contributes to safeguarding financial stability by enhancing investor protection and promoting stable and orderly financial markets across the European Union's 27 member states.

ESMA plays a central coordinating role in implementing the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), the comprehensive EU framework for crypto regulation that came into force in 2023 with phased implementation through 2024-2025. Under MiCA, ESMA directly supervises significant Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) offering asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) or e-money tokens (EMTs) across multiple EU jurisdictions. The authority develops technical standards, maintains public registers of authorized CASPs, and coordinates supervisory activities among national competent authorities.

ESMA also oversees the DLT Pilot Regime, a regulatory sandbox allowing market infrastructures to test distributed ledger technology for trading and settlement of tokenized securities. The authority's Guidelines and Q&A publications provide critical interpretive guidance helping firms navigate MiCA compliance requirements and the application of existing EU securities law to digital assets.

Related Terms

MiCA ComplianceDLT Pilot Regime
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