MICA explanatory memo
1)The Commission’s communication on a Digital Finance Strategy 32 aims to ensure that the Union’s financial services legislation is fit for the digital age, and contributes to a future-ready economy that works for the people, including by enabling the use of innovative technologies. The Union has a stated and confirmed policy interest in developing and promoting the uptake of transformative technologies in the financial sector, including blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT). (2)In finance, crypto-assets are one of the major DLT applications. Crypto-assets are digital representations of value or rights that have the potential to bring significant benefits to both market participants and consumers. By streamlining capital-raising processes and enhancing competition, issuances of crypto-assets can allow for a cheaper, less burdensome and more inclusive way of financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). When used as a means of payment, payment tokens can present opp...