EU to Allow Blocking of Advertising for Offshore Crypto Services

EU member states will be able to block advertisements and websites of unauthorised organisations linked to digital assets. The relevant rules will be laid down in MiCA, The Block reports.

The regulation will be developed by ESMA.

The trigger for considering such an option was collapse of the Bahamas-based exchange FTX. It was discussed by members of the European Parliament.

According to Jan Ceissen, head of the European Commission’s Digital Finance department, after MiCA comes into force authorities will monitor active crypto firms that do not have permission to operate with EU citizens.

“We will have common ESMA guidelines that will specify what reverse attraction is,” he explained.

Steffen Kern, head of ESMA’s Risk Analysis and Economics Department, noted that such practice is “an especially pronounced problem” and raises regulator concerns.

“This market is largely offshore. In many cases we do not even know in which jurisdiction the assets are located, which hardly makes the situation easier,” he explained.

The official predicted that companies outside the EU will maintain a dominant position.

In October, members of the Council of the EU signed the MiCA regulation bill. The document includes rules that apply to issuers of unbacked crypto assets, stablecoins, trading and custodial platforms.

The text of the bill must be officially approved by the European Parliament. It is expected to be published in the EU Official Journal in early 2023, before it comes into force in 2024.

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