On 29 November 2024, the European Commission published on its official gazette the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2984 which outlines regulatory technical standards for the preparation of forms, formats, and templates for the preparation of crypto-asset white papers. These new regulatory technical standards are part of the broader Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 market in crypto-assets (MiCAR), aiming to maximise transparency, investor protection, and market integrity.
We summarise the key points below.
Key highlights:
1. Standardised templates for white
papers
Crypto-asset issuers must follow specific templates to present
their projects clearly and uniformly, covering different types of
crypto-assets like asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money
tokens (EMTs).
2. Machine-readable format using XBRL
White papers must be in XHTML format and use Inline XBRL for data
fields. This ensures machine-readability, enabling automated
analysis and making information easier to compare across
projects.
3. Legal entity and service provider
identifiers
Issuers must include their legal entity identifier (LEI), and a
crypto-asset service provider identifier (CASPI) is required to
enhance transparency and ensure proper identification of entities
involved.
4. Use of digital token identifiers
(DTIs)
If available, DTIs will allow issuers to skip repetition of certain
details about the crypto-asset, reducing redundancy and
streamlining the process.
5. Human readable white papers
While promoting machine-readability, white papers must also be
accessible to retail investors, ensuring they are easy to read
without specialised software.
6. XBRL taxonomy files
ESMA will publish XBRL taxonomy files which would guide issuers in
preparing their white papers, ensuring compliance with all their
legal and technical obligations.
7. Compliance timeline
The regulation takes effect on 23 December 2025, giving
issuers time to transition to the new requirements.
The new regulatory technical standards on crypto-asset white papers aim to enhance transparency, reduce fraud, and facilitate easier comparison of crypto-assets, benefiting both investors and issuers. Crypto projects will need to adopt the new standards, making their white papers more accessible and standardised across the market. Issuers have time to prepare before these new regulatory technical standards come into force, allowing them to streamline compliance and improve their market presence.
The Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2984 can be found here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
