EU moves to transfer virtual asset supervision from individual countries to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)

Europe plans to unify supervision of virtual assets (cryptocurrencies).

On the 5th (Korean time), crypto-focused outlet CoinDesk reported that the European Commission announced plans to transfer supervision of virtual asset firms from individual countries to the EU's European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). This is part of efforts to promote integration of EU financial markets, aiming to increase consistency in virtual asset supervision and encourage active exchanges among virtual asset firms across countries.

Specifically, the proposal aims to address divisions caused by differences in supervisory approaches among the 27 EU member states. The Commission said, "If ESMA takes on supervision of virtual assets and other financial services, more efficient regulation will be possible."

In particular, regulators in some countries have expressed concerns about the implementation of the 'Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA)' rules and have called for stronger oversight by ESMA. France's AMF, Austria's FMA, and Italy's CONSOB are representative examples.

ESMA performs a role similar to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but unlike the SEC, it mainly plays a coordinating role rather than direct supervision.

Meanwhile, for this proposal to pass it requires approval from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. The Commission emphasized, "EU financial markets remain highly fragmented and, due to their small scale and lack of competitiveness, are missing out on economies of scale and efficiency."