According to Reuters, two main cryptocurrency companies are about to obtain licenses across the European Union level, as internal tensions increase among national regulators to the rate and diligence of the approval process, according to Reuters.
Companies – Gemini, the trading platform founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and another major player – sail as part of the newly implemented markets in Crypto -Astets (MICA), which allows companies under license in a member state of the EU to operate in the whole block of 27 countries. This passport mechanism, at the center of the Mica mission, is designed to align the surveillance of cryptography on traditional financial systems. However, concerns have emerged among regulators on the incoherent application and possible erosion of standards.
According to Reuters, Gemini is about to obtain a Malta license, the smallest member state of the EU. This would mark an important step for the company and follow the previous approvals granted by the Maltese authorities to OKX and Crypto.com – a few weeks after the entry into force.
The rapid issuance of licenses by Malta has drawn the critical attention of regulators to other countries, in particular those involved in confidential talks of the European Authority for Securities and Markets (ESMA). According to Reuters, two people familiar with these discussions expressed their concern that rapid licenses in the smallest jurisdictions could avoid the rigorous verification necessary to protect financial stability and illicit fight.
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Mica was designed to impose order on a fast growing industry that has been faced with frequent criticisms to facilitate financial crime and lack transparency. Although the regulations aims to standardize supervision, some regulators fear that its effectiveness can be undermined by what they consider as a “downward race” in compliance standards.
The financiers of France Authority of Martes (AMF) went so far as to pruder publicly that the current configuration – where the ESMA lacks direct authority on national decisions – perhaps led to an unequal application. Another senior official, speaking anonymously, told Reuters that they were particularly worried about the acceptance of countries in countries with a limited regulatory capacity, distinguishing Malta as an example.
The ESMA would have launched an examination of Malta license practices, and a report on its conclusions should soon circulate, according to sources quoted by Reuters.
In response, the Malta Financial Services Authority defended its approach, declaring that it had granted four licenses under Mica so far and has attributed the speed of its process to its long -standing experience of cryptographic regulations. The authority stressed that its accelerated approvals reflect a “deep understanding acquired during these years”.
Source: Reuters
