EU CryptoReg roundup: September 2025

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Welcome to our EU crypto update - a roundup of key Irish and EU legislative and regulatory developments shaping the crypto-asset sector.

This update is brought to you by our Regulatory & Risk Advisory practice group in Ireland.

Our aim is to keep you informed of the fast-evolving legal landscape, from new legislation and guidance to significant case law and observations.

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Key developments this month include:

MiCAR Level 2 standards took effect on 5 October 2025, detailing ART authorisation applications and forms.
Central Bank of Ireland issued information on the MiCAR Title II whitepaper notification process and updated its MiCAR FAQ regarding complaints.
Central Bank of Ireland opened its second Innovation Sandbox with a focus on payments.
French, Austrian and Italian Financial Markets Authorities propose centralised CASP supervision, stricter global platform rules, stronger cyber oversight, and a token offering one stop shop.

Legislation and guidance

Ireland

Central Bank of Ireland MiCAR updates

2 September 2025 – Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) update to MiCAR FAQs.

The Central Bank has updated its MiCAR FAQs with a section on complaints handling.
The Central Bank notes that with regards to making a consumer complaint, individual complaints against regulated financial services firms or complaints about regulated financial services, must first be raised with the regulated financial services firm concerned to provide it with an opportunity to respond to the complaint. Under the Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Code, all regulated financial services firms must have a complaints handling procedure in place. If a complainant is not satisfied with the response from the financial services firm, they have the right to refer the complaint to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman.
With regards to reporting an actual or potential infringement under MiCAR, the Central Bank outlines the relevant reporting channels. The Central Bank provides more information on the process, here.

September 2025 – Central Bank of Ireland updates its MiCAR webpage to include information on the MiCAR Title II whitepaper notification process.

The following documents need to be completed and submitted to the Central Bank:
- MiCAR Whitepaper, in compliance with the format outlined in Table 2 of the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2984;
- Explanatory Note as required by Article 8(4) MiCAR, in compliance with the format outlined in Annex A to the Guidelines on templates for explanations and opinions, and the standardised test for crypto-assets, under Article 97(1) of MiCAR; and
- MiCAR Title II Other Crypto Assets Submission Template.
The Central Bank notes that the onus is on all associated parties in relation to a notification to ensure compliance under MiCAR.
If the documentation is deemed to be incomplete, the Central Bank will contact notifying entities, and the 5 working day turnaround will restart once updated documents are submitted.

For more information on MiCAR Title II whitepaper requirements and the notification process, see our briefing here.

Central Bank payments sandbox

23 September 2025 – The Central Bank opened its call for applications to the payments sandbox.

The Central Bank's second Innovation Sandbox Programme targets the “Innovation in Payments”. The Sandbox provides an opportunity to further expand engagement between the Central Bank and the private sector in the area of payments.
It aims to foster innovative solutions that deliver safer, faster and more inclusive payments for households and businesses, while giving the Central Bank early insight into emerging risks and supervisory questions.
The Central Bank welcomes applicants at every stage of their development, from start-ups to incumbents. If you are a firm or a partnership developing a product or service that uses innovative technology to deliver better payments outcomes for consumers of financial services, the Central Bank invites you to consider making an application.

European Union

Updates to ESMA and EBA MiCAR Q&As

5 September 2025 – EBA 2024_7167 - Passporting procedure for non-credit institution Asset-Referenced Token (ART) issuers.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) notes in this Q&A that MiCAR requires a legal person/entity to be established in one Member State in order to offer or seek admission to trading of ARTs in the EU.
The home competent authority will communicate to the host Member States, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), EBA, the European Central Bank (ECB) and, where applicable, the central bank referred to in Article 10 of 18 20(4) of MiCAR, the list of host Member States where the applicant issuer intends to offer or seek admission to trading of ARTs.
The ESMA register will make public the list of host Member States.

25 September 2025 – ESMA_QA_2654 - Offerors and Crypto-Asset Services Providers' (CASPs) responsibilities with regards to white papers for Title II tokens admitted to trading prior to 30 December 2024.

A new Q&A has been published querying what the respective responsibilities of offerors, persons seeking admission to trading, operators of trading platforms and other CASPs mentioned in Article 66(3) of MiCAR are with regard to white papers for crypto-assets other than ARTs and e-money tokens (EMTs) that were admitted to trading prior to 30 December 2024.
This question is currently awaiting a response.

MiCAR Level 2 texts published in the Official Journal

15 September 2025 - Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1125 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1126 published in the Official Journal of the EU.

Regulatory technical standards specifying the information in an application for authorisation to offer ARTs to the public or to seek their admission to trading.
Implementing technical standards for the application of MiCAR with regard to the establishment of standard forms, templates and procedures for the information to be included in the application for authorisation to offer ARTs to the public and to seek their admission to trading.
These regulatory and implementing standards entered into force on 5 October 2025 and outline the information required in applications for authorisation to offer to the public or to seek admission to trading of ARTs in the EU.

Other updates

European Union

MiCAR: Proposals from the French, the Austrian and the Italian Financial Markets Authorities

15 September 2025 – Proposals from the French, the Austrian and the Italian Financial Markets Authorities.

The AMF, the FMA and the Consob note that MiCAR's application remains fragmented and that certain provisions do not adequately prevent risks that are specific to the sector, thereby threatening the competitiveness of European players and investor protection.
In particular, the AMF, the FMA and the Consob note that the first few months of application of MiCAR have revealed that major crypto-asset platforms are seeking to take advantage of the European passport to deploy their activities in Europe from a single member state, which is legitimate in itself, but risks fuelling regulatory and supervisory competition. The experience of MiCAR's first few months in application also shows that supervisory convergence between national authorities quickly reaches its limits and is not sufficient to guarantee uniform application of standards within the EU.
In view of these limitations, the AMF, the FMA and the Consob are proposing a number of adjustments to ensure consistent and effective application of the regulation and strengthen investor protection to match the standards established for traditional investment products, including:
- Centralised supervision of major crypto-asset service providers in Europe;
- Stricter rules for global platforms and their activities outside the EU;
- Better supervision of service providers in the face of cyberthreats; and
- The creation of a one-stop shop for token offerings.

ESMA keynote speech on tokenisation

1 September 2025 - Natasha Cazenave delivers keynote speech at the Capital Markets in the Digital Age Conference on tokenisation.

The market for tokenised assets is estimated at around USD 600 billion, with forecasts pointing to rapid growth in the years ahead.
In the fixed-income market, Europe has taken a leading role, supported by early private- and public-sector initiatives.
Despite these promising signs, most tokenisation initiatives remain small and largely illiquid.
Instruments are typically issued via private placements and held to maturity. Interoperability between issuance platforms is limited.
In the equities market, several Fintech firms have developed offerings that provide exposure to listed shares or DLT-based derivatives backed by corporate stock through SPVs.
In the asset management sector, development is most advanced in the US where the first SEC-registered tokenised money market fund was launched in 2021.
Since crypto-assets are built on the same underlying technology as all tokenised assets, the implementation of MiCAR and the ongoing supervisory work underway has also provided EU regulators with understanding of the risks and legal uncertainties posed by DLT.

ECB press releases on the digital euro

3 September 2025 – Christine Lagarde speech - Cutting through the noise: exercising good judgment in a world of change.

Christine Lagarde presented a welcome address at the ninth annual conference of the European Systemic Risk Board.
Christine Lagarde discussed the risks arising from stablecoins, in particular liquidity risk.
She notes that MiCAR seeks to address this risk in two ways. First, stablecoin issuers must allow EU investors to always redeem their holdings at par value. Second, stablecoin issuers must hold a substantial share of reserves in bank deposits.
But she notes that gaps remain. One example is so-called multi-issuance schemes, where an EU entity and a non-EU entity jointly issue fungible stablecoins. In such cases, MiCAR requirements do not extend to the non-EU issuer.
Christine Lagarde notes that European legislation should ensure that such schemes cannot operate in the EU unless supported by robust equivalence regimes in other jurisdictions and safeguards relating to the transfer of assets between the EU and non-EU entities.

September 2025 – ECB speeches on the digital euro.

4 September 2025 – The digital euro: ensuring resilience and inclusion in digital payments.
17 September 2025 - Central bank money for the digital era.
17 September 2025 - What resilience takes: strengthening the financial system in an era of heightened risk.
26 September 2025 - Preparing the future of payments and money: the role of research and innovation.
29 September 2025 - Digital euro: protecting our freedom, autonomy and security.
30 September 2025 - Innovating for stability: central bank money in the digital era.

26 September 2025 – ECB outcome report of the digital euro innovation platform (the Report).

The ECB has published the Report on the outcome of the first iteration of the digital euro innovation platform, which the ECB launched in October 2024 to foster collaboration with the market in order to test ideas and explore the innovative potential of the digital euro.
The Report presents the findings of the two workstreams. The visionaries focused on ideas that showed how the digital euro could unlock and foster innovation within the euro area. Meanwhile, the pioneers focused on the technical testing of conditional payments.
Both workstreams demonstrated how collaboration with the market can drive innovation and help shape the long-term vision for the digital euro. Participants expressed strong interest and enthusiasm for working together, emphasising that ongoing dialogue is key to ensuring that the digital euro meets real-world needs.
Building on the results and strong participation in this first iteration of the innovation platform, future iterations will continue to foster collaboration among market stakeholders while unlocking the innovative potential of the digital euro.

ESMA publications on trends, risks and vulnerabilities

9 September 2025 – ESMA publishes TRV Risk Monitor and TRV Statistical Annex.

The TRV Risk Monitor chapter on crypto-assets examines key crypto market developments for H1 2025, including for stablecoins and crypto exchange-traded products.
The TRV Risk Mintor chapter on financial innovation addresses market trends with regards to decentralised finance and tokenised funds.
The TRV Statistical Annex includes charts on crypto-asset and stablecoin market valuations and trading volumes.

19 September 2025 - Joint Committee Report on Risks and Vulnerabilities in the EU Financial System – Autumn 2025 (the Joint Committee Report).

The Joint Committee Report discusses heightened cyber risks and risks related to crypto-assets in the current geopolitical context, noting that in crypto markets, there are risks from regulatory divergence.
Furthermore, the Joint Committee Report notes that external contagion risks from crypto-assets remain limited so far but should be monitored due to growing interlinkages between crypto markets and the traditional financial sector as crypto markets continue to expand.

EBA press release on innovation and the EU payments market

25 September 2025 – Speech at Payments Tomorrow Conference on innovation, competition and security: How regulation continues to shape the EU payments market.

The new Payment Services Directive (PSD3) and the Payment Services Regulation (PSR), currently being discussed by the European Council, Parliament and Commission in the so-called trialogue phase, are expected to introduce further important changes. Key elements include:
- Strengthening payment security;
- Improving the functioning of open banking;
- Addressing de-risking of payment institutions by banks; and
- Enhancing enforcement and consistency.
Market initiatives such as the European Payments Initiative with its Wero wallet, or the European Payments Alliance in Southern Europe, as well as the Digital Euro project, aim to strengthen EU autonomy and reduce reliance on non-EU providers in the area of payments.
In parallel, the growing use of crypto-assets, including EMTs which are assimilated to electronic money, and new business models highlights the need for legal clarity regarding the interaction between EU payments legislation and MiCAR.