ESMA launches crypto custody resilience review
- The European Securities and Markets Authority will review crypto custody providers across the EU after the Markets in Crypto-Assets transition period ended.
- National regulators will assess operational resilience, governance and custody controls at a risk-based sample of authorised crypto firms through the first half of 2027.
- The review aims to support consistent supervision of the new Markets in Crypto-Assets framework and identify operational risks across the sector.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched a review of authorised crypto custody providers to assess their operational resilience following the July 1 completion of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) transition period.
The review marks one of the first coordinated supervisory actions under MiCA and will examine a risk-based sample of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) across the European Union through the first half of 2027.
National regulators will assess the maturity of custody providers' digital operational resilience frameworks, including key and storage management, governance, transaction controls, incident detection and response, and reliance on third-party technology providers.
ESMA said the findings from national regulators will be consolidated into a final report for its Board of Supervisors during the second half of 2027.
The review is expected to provide regulators with a clearer picture of custody-related operational risks under MiCA, while no listed company share price reaction applies to the announcement.
The supervisory action follows the end of MiCA's transition period, which has shifted attention from implementation to ongoing compliance and enforcement across the EU's digital asset market.
The review also comes after crypto custody provider BitGo launched a Europe-focused crypto-as-a-service platform last month to help digital asset platforms meet MiCA compliance requirements while maintaining access to the European market.