ESMA: Crypto assets and their risks for financial stability

04 October 2022

ESMA has been following these developments closely for several years, including because of their risks to consumer protection (2), and outlines in this article the latest understanding of crypto-assets’ risks and transmission channels to financial markets.

Summary

Crypto-assets have gained increasing attention due to their rapid growth and so has the interest around their implications for the traditional financial system – including financial stability. ESMA has been following these developments closely for several years, including because of their risks to consumer protection (2), and outlines in this article the latest understanding of crypto-assets’ risks and transmission channels to financial markets. While some sources of risk are well understood from traditional markets, others are novel and linked to the product design, technological development, or the complex infrastructures built around crypto-assets. We find that, at present, crypto-assets are still small in size and their interlinkages to traditional markets are limited. In future, this situation may change as market growth can occur suddenly and risk transmission is possible through various channels. Continuous monitoring of the crypto-asset market and its interconnectedness with the wider financial system is required to assess newly emerging threats in a timely manner, while regulations such as the EU proposal “Markets in Crypto-Assets” (MiCA) should be implemented swiftly to mitigate already identified risks....

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