ECB wants crypto supervision taken from national watchdogs
The ECB backs the plan to move supervision of crypto firms from 27 national competent authorities to ESMA. What that means for your exchange.
The European Central Bank supports the proposal to take supervision of crypto firms away from the 27 national competent authorities and hand it to ESMA in Paris. That is set out in ECB opinion CON/2026/13. For anyone with an account today nothing changes; the proposal is not yet law.
How it works now
A crypto firm applies for an authorisation in one EU country and can then serve customers across the whole Union. This is called a passport, and it is the same model banks and investment firms already use under MiFID II.
The result is that the country of establishment decides who is watching. A firm with an Irish authorisation is under Irish supervision, even if ninety percent of its customers are in Germany.
What would change
The ECB asks for three things for itself alongside this: a non-voting seat on ESMA's new executive board for topics that affect crypto firms, direct access to data on those firms, and capital requirements that move with the risk a firm runs.
The ECB also wants a cap on e-money tokens used as a settlement asset without central bank money being involved. In plain terms: a brake on how large a euro stablecoin may become within the payment system.
Who this hurts
Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta have become the most popular countries of establishment under the current model. They give up supervisory powers if the centralisation goes ahead, and with that the appeal their speed of authorisation earned them.
That is also the reason not to get ahead of things. A proposal that takes something away from three member states rarely comes through the Council intact, and rarely comes through quickly.
Who this does not affect
If you use an exchange with an authorisation, nothing changes for you for now in how you buy, hold or sell. Supervision moves, the MiCA rules themselves do not. If you want to know which providers are in the register today, you can check that on our MiCA authorisations page.
Where this comes from
The opinion belongs to the package of capital markets proposals the European Commission published in 2025 (COM/2025/941, 942 and 943). Under it ESMA would assess not only crypto firms but other market infrastructure as well.
Checked on 13 August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Does anything change for my account?
No. The proposal is about who supervises, not about what is asked of you. Your authorised provider stays authorised.
When does this take effect?
That is not known. It is an opinion on a legislative proposal; it still has to pass the Council and Parliament, and three member states have an interest in slowing it down.
Does this mean stricter supervision?
More even supervision, probably. One assessor instead of twenty-seven makes the differences between member states smaller. Whether it turns out stricter depends on how ESMA fills it in.
Where can I see which provider has an authorisation?
In ESMA's public register. We keep an overview on the MiCA page, and you can put providers side by side in the comparison tool. Today's market picture is on market regime.