The European Union is preparing a major overhaul of its crypto regulatory structure, planning to shift supervisory power from national watchdogs to the central EU authority, ESMA.
This move would mark the next phase in the implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, moving from a decentralized to a centralized model.
ESMA Chair Verena Ross confirmed the development, highlighting the need to end the “continued fragmentation” of supervision across the bloc.
This change would centralize oversight that is currently handled by a patchwork of national authorities, which has allowed smaller states like Lithuania, Malta, and Luxembourg to become early hubs by granting licenses to firms like Bitstamp, OKX, and Robinhood.
