RULEMATCH Spot On - Focus on MiCAR

The topic of MiCAR - the European Union's Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation - is top of mind for crypto asset service providers (CASPs) not just in Europe, but also around the world. The implications of MiCAR for the current crypto market and its potential to shape institutional involvement in the space are wide-ranging and far-reaching. In this episode of RULEMATCH Spot On, host Ian Simpson spoke to Dr. Joachim Schwerin, Principal Economist at the European Commission and a contributor to the drafting and writing of MiCAR. Together they discuss MiCAR's background, implications for stablecoins, liquidity, bank and broker operations and much more.   Episode show notes: 00:55 Intro and Dr. Schwerin’s background in drafting MiCAR 2:52 How big a deal is MiCAR (really)? 4:32 The second part of MiCAR’s development 6:52 The danger in global convergence of rules 7:48 The true scope and scale of MiCAR 9:30 How MiCAR reverses the “burden of proof” onto regulators 10:45 The need for a liberalization of financial markets with MiCAR 11:28 How will MiCAR change the crypto market in 5 years? 13:45 How the crypto community should consider regulation 14:19 Traditional financial regulation for crypto is “dead” 15:40 MiCAR: horizontal or vertical? 16:10 The real things to look for in 5 years 17:10 Bottom-up innovation needs new forms of regulation 17:45 MiCAR as a desire to target specific market players 19:02 Creating a “radical place that is driven by experimentation” 19:12 Why educating “the right” way is important 20:06 The influence of MiCAR on regulation in other places 22:40 Why competition goes beyond just company vs company 23:49 MiCAR in the context of industrial policy 24:40 MiCAR and GDPR as EU exports 25:56 GDPR as the first crypto regulation 28:20 Specific implications of MiCAR for: best execution 32:07 The ongoing discussions around best execution 33:43 Specific implications of MiCAR: liquidity 34:50 The political reality around stablecoins 35:20 Competitiveness, the dollar’s decline and Europe’s imperative 36:26 “Deal with it” 37:30 Analyzing the “protectionist” view of MiCAR 39:26 How global crypto players will adapt to MiCAR 41:05 Stablecoins as a passing phenomenon 41:59 “MiCA prohibits nothing…” 42:34 Specific implications of MiCAR: tokens deemed securities 46:44 The potential for tokenized assets in Europe 50:10 A curious case of private crypto tech 51:21 Jealous of Switzerland 54:01 Thoughts on Switzerland’s DLT law and MICAR 2.0 56:38 NFTs and MiCAR 58:40 NFTs in the financial domain 1:01:10 The “unexplainably” strict rules around reverse solicitation 1:04:50 The pace of 2nd-level standards publication from ESMA 1:05:44 Is the tail wagging the dog? 1:07:25 The unhealthy focus on a few standards 1:08:59 The number of CASPs in the pipeline for MiCAR 1:10:33 How long will it take for MiCAR to “populate” across European countries? ABOUT THE HOST: Ian Simpson is Director of Marketing and Communication at RULEMATCH as well as host of the RULEMATCH Spot On podcast, focused exclusively on the institutional crypto and digital assets industry. Previously he was Head of Marketing at Bitcoin Suisse and Head of Communications at the Crypto Valley Association. His insights on the Swiss crypto and blockchain ecosystem have been featured in CoinDesk, the leader in blockchain news. ------ Disclaimer: The information contained in this podcast about RULEMATCH AG (“RULEMATCH”) and any guest company is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered exhaustive. They do not imply any elements of a contractual relationship nor any offering.