ESAs Issue Guidelines On Classification Of Crypto-Assets

Classification of Crypto-Assets - MiCAR

The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have recently issued guidelines on the standardised test for the classification of crypto-assets under MiCAR, while ESMA has also just issued guidelines on the conditions and criteria for the qualification of crypto-assets as financial instruments.

Under Malta's Virtual Financial Assets (VFA) framework, the Financial Instrument Test (FIT) served as a tool to determine whether a cryptocurrency was classified as a virtual token, financial instrument, e-money, or a virtual financial asset. This test operated through a process of exclusions, automatically designating any crypto-asset that did not fit into the first three categories as a regulated VFA under Maltese Law.