Cryptos have gone from the status of digital parias to that of serious investment products. But as their volumes explode and the banks begin to pay them attention, another dynamic settles: that of institutional fear. Europe, which thought it had secured the field with Mica, is starting to doubt. A report by ESMA puts a part in the worry machine: the crypto could make tremble more than a wallet.
Warning from ESMA: red signals against a background of euphoria
The European Financial Markets Authority (ESMA), author of a recent debate on the Mica law, is clear: the rise of crypto-active, still confined to 1 % of global financial assetsis no longer a niche game. HAS 3,000 billion euros in cumulative capitalizationthe market begins to weigh. Especially since the interconnections between crypto and traditional finance are intensifying: ETF in full boom, stablecoins become alternative payment system and increasing influx of savers in search of yield.
And as if to swing a bucket of cold water on this enthusiasm, ESMA recalls ::
There is a real risk for investors to lose the majority, even all, of their investment.
Add to that a still keen memory of Fiascos FTX, Terra and Celsiusand you get a cocktail conducive to another crisis. A crisis that no one will be able to say that they have not seen coming.
Mica: The cracked European shield?
Adopted as a bulletproof vest, The Mica (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulations were to provide a protective layer to European saver. On paper, he supervises the PSAN, imposes rules on stable -co -emitters, and introduces a crypto license on the EU scale.
But in the corridors of ESMA, the observation is more nuanced: Mica does not protect as much as Mifid II.
No obligation to test aptitude for investors, little safeguards in terms of advice, and a regulation of still shy stablecoins.
Roderik's tweet (@r0derik) sums up the fracture well:
The United States prohibits what Europe regulates.
Comparison with the stable American Act is striking: where Washington prohibits interest on Stablecoins and banish algorithms for two years, Brussels chooses flexible supervision.
A more permissive philosophy… But more risky?
Reinforced links with traditional finance: towards a systemic risk?
By dint of playing with the matches, the fire ends up taking. This is what the ESMA fears, which sees with a dim view of the bridges that are built between Cryptos and Classic Finance. European banks, for the moment chilly, could be tempted by theIndirect exposure, via ETF or derivatives. In the event of failure in the crypto world, The domino effect is not excluded.
And as an unpleasant recall, regulators evoke the Colossal losses suffered by private investors When falling from the market in 2022: -70 % in one year. Not to mention scams and manipulations, always omnipresent on unregulated platforms.
The ECB, in ESMA echo, calls for Reinforced monitoring. Because today, the crypto is no longer content to shake up the currencies: it flirts with the heart of the financial system.
Last weekend, the Crypto market shone with a thousand lights. But ESMA, in a good European firefighter, prefers to remember that not all flames are beneficial. Mica is not an absolute firewall, and growing interconnections with classical finance awaken the 2008 ghosts. If Europe wants to avoid a new systemic crisis, it is better to monitor these assets as attractive as it is volatile.
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