Final report on Guidelines on reporting on ARTs and EMTs

General Information

This document is the final report of the Guidelines published by the European Banking Authority (EBA) in December 2024, referenced EBA/GL/2024/16. It concerns the templates intended to assist competent authorities in their supervisory tasks of issuers of asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and electronic money tokens (EMTs) in compliance with Titles III and IV of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCAR). The scope covers reporting requirements, capital, liquidity, as well as the assessment of issuer significance, applicable from 26 May 2025. The sector concerned is that of crypto-assets and related services in the European Union, focusing on ARTs and EMTs, for the post-entry into force period of MiCAR (30 June 2024 for Titles III and IV). The document comprises 44 pages.

Executive Summary

The final report presents guidelines established by the EBA to harmonize reporting templates that issuers of asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and electronic money tokens (EMTs) must use to provide competent authorities and the EBA with the data necessary for supervision under MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114). The subject is crucial because the data currently required by Article 22 of MiCAR are insufficient to enable effective supervision, notably on capital requirements, liquidity, and the assessment of issuer significance. The EBA identified data gaps which, if not addressed, would prevent monitoring of prudential requirements and the annual reassessment of the significance of ARTs and EMTs. These Guidelines introduce standardized templates covering: number of holders, market capitalization, composition and maturity of asset reserves, daily transactions, capital, liquidity, as well as entities involved in custody, operation, or distribution of tokens. They also include models for data collection from crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). The objective is to ensure a common and harmonized approach across Member States, reinforcing convergence and competitive fairness in the internal market. These templates must be used from 26 May 2025, with quarterly frequency and reference and submission dates aligned with existing implementing technical standards (ITS). The EBA chose this harmonized approach (option 1b) rather than ad hoc collection (option 1a) to reduce administrative burden, avoid disparate requests, and guarantee data quality and comparability. The report also details responses to comments received during the public consultation, notably on the protection of personal data of holders via pseudonymization by SHA-256 hashing, and clarifies application modalities of the templates according to issuer categories and issuance size (threshold of 100 million euros). In conclusion, these Guidelines are essential to enable authorities to fulfill their supervisory missions, ensure financial stability, investor protection, and integrity of crypto markets in Europe.

Context and Objectives

Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCAR) aims to harmonize the legal framework for public offerings and admission to trading of ARTs and EMTs in the EU, ensuring financial stability, market integrity, and holder protection. Entered into force on 29 June 2023, MiCAR applies from 30 June 2024 for Titles III and IV. MiCAR imposes authorization, conduct, and prudential requirements on issuers, as well as reporting obligations (Article 22). However, the EBA identified that the currently required data are insufficient to effectively supervise capital and liquidity requirements and to perform the assessment of issuer significance (Articles 35, 36, 38, 43, 54, 56, 58). These gaps would limit authorities’ capacity to carry out their missions and ensure consistent supervision at the European level. The objective of the Guidelines is therefore to define a harmonized framework for information collection via standardized templates, covering financial, operational, and structural data necessary for supervision. This framework aims to avoid disparate ad hoc requests, reduce administrative burden for issuers and CASPs, and ensure convergence of supervisory practices in the EU. The Guidelines fall within the EBA’s powers (Article 16 of Regulation 1093/2010) and complement existing implementing technical standards (ITS). They will apply from 26 May 2025, with precise modalities regarding frequency, formats, and application thresholds.

Summary of Key Points by Theme

- Data necessary for capital supervision: ART issuers (excluding credit institutions) and EMTs subject to capital requirements must provide detailed data on their capital at the reference date, including deductions, six-month average of asset reserve, fixed costs of the previous year, capital/asset reserve ratio, and additional requirements (p. 6-7).

- Data on asset reserve and liquidity: Issuers must provide a "maturity ladder" detailing the composition of the asset reserve according to 12 time buckets, broken down by asset class, repurchase agreements, and derivatives, to assess capacity to meet redemption requests and manage liquidity risks (p. 7-8).

- Data for significance assessment: To enable the EBA to assess issuer significance criteria (Articles 43 and 56 of MiCAR), templates collect information on market capitalization, ownership structure, designation as "gatekeeper" under the platform services regulation, issuance of other tokens and crypto services, as well as estimated market share of cross-border transactions used as means of exchange. For EMTs referenced in official EU currency, data on number of holders, issued value, reserve size, and average daily transactions are also required (p. 8-9).

- Data collection from CASPs: Issuers must obtain from CASPs harmonized information on holders (with pseudonymization via concatenation and SHA-256 hashing), transactions, token balances held, to avoid double counting and ensure data quality (p. 9-10).

- Reporting frequency and modalities: Data must be submitted quarterly, with reference dates on 31 March, 30 June, 30 September, and 31 December, and submission dates set on 12 May, 11 August, 11 November, and 11 February. The application threshold is set at 100 million euros of issuance, with authorities able to require reporting below this threshold (p. 18-20).

- Personal data protection: To preserve holder confidentiality, the pseudonymization method by SHA-256 hashing is adopted, ensuring irreversibility and uniqueness of anonymized identifiers (p. 9).

- Harmonization and convergence: The Guidelines’ templates are aligned with those of the ITS under Article 22(7) of MiCAR, facilitating submission and data consolidation, and ensuring a uniform approach across Europe (p. 10-11).

- Public consultation and feedback: Responses improved instructions, clarified scopes, adjusted modalities for sharing sensitive data, and confirmed maintenance of proposed thresholds and formats (p. 30-44).

Main Results and Lessons Learned

- Established facts: The data currently required by MiCAR are insufficient for comprehensive supervision of capital, liquidity, and significance assessment of ARTs and EMTs issuers (p. 3-5).

- Assumptions: The implementation of harmonized templates will facilitate data collection, quality, and comparability, reduce administrative burden, and improve convergence of supervisory practices (p. 6-7).

- Interpretations: The harmonized approach via Guidelines is preferable to ad hoc collection, as it avoids multiple disparate requests, overload for issuers and CASPs, and guarantees a common framework for the EBA and national authorities (p. 27).

- Uncertainties: Data on non-custodial holders are limited, but transactions between non-custodials are excluded from the scope of certain templates. Personal data protection is ensured by pseudonymization but remains a sensitive topic (p. 40-41).

- Consultation outcome: The changes clarify instructions, specify scopes, and improve data protection without substantially modifying obligations (p. 30-44).

Conclusions and Recommendations

The EBA recommends applying these Guidelines from 26 May 2025 to ensure effective and harmonized supervision of ARTs and EMTs issuers in accordance with Titles III and IV of MiCAR. Issuers must use standardized templates to provide quarterly data related to capital, liquidity, composition and maturity of asset reserves, transactions, and information necessary for significance assessment. CASPs must provide issuers with required data according to defined models and instructions, ensuring holder confidentiality via pseudonymization. Competent authorities must integrate these Guidelines into their supervisory practices and notify their compliance to the EBA before 26 May 2025. This harmonization aims to strengthen convergence of practices, ensure integrity and stability of crypto markets in Europe, and guarantee fair treatment of issuers in the internal market. The EBA will continue cooperation with national authorities and update technical tools to facilitate data collection and analysis.