Webinar: How to pick the right EU country for your crypto firm

Webinar
|
November 6, 2024

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Key factors that crypto firms should weigh when picking the right EU country to establish their business and submit their Markets in Crypto-asset Regulation (MiCA) applications.

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As the Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCA) applies at the start of 2025 (and operationalises throughout Europe over the subsequent 18 months), crypto firms looking to passport their products and services across the EU need to carefully consider the right country to establish their businesses and file their MiCA applications—a strategic decision that can dictate long-term success and significantly impact day-to-day operations.

XReg’s Siân Jones and Ana James joined John Salmon and other members of the Hogan Lovells team on 30 October 2024 to discuss key factors that should inform a crypto firm’s decision, including:

  • An overview of MiCA and related legislation that crypto firms should be aware of,
  • A comparison of regulatory environments in Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Ireland,
  • Key geopolitical factors and labour market dynamics that are critical to consider,
  • Guidance on whether a MiCA or a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) license will be necessary, depending on whether certain assets are classified as crypto-assets or financial instruments,
  • The implications of potential future approaches to decentralised finance (DeFi),
  • How jurisdictional approaches to the EU’s AML Directive may impact your decision and affect your ability to passport.

To view the full recording of the webinar, click here. To access the slides from the presentation, click here.

Have questions about what jurisdiction might be best for your crypto business? Visit our MiCA page.

Meet the Authors

Siân Jones

Chair

Siân Jones

Siân is Chair at XReg Consulting, a group of former regulators with practical experience in formulating public policy and developing regulation for blockchain, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and cryptoassets.

As XReg’s strategy and public policy lead, Siân’s background in regulation and extensive experience in policy formulation, regulatory framework development and implementation is leveraged by governments and public authorities to guide the development of policies within their jurisdictions, as they come to terms with the new frontier of cryptoassets and with the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) standards and guidelines as they apply to virtual assets and virtual asset service providers (VASPs).  

Siân led a global initiative to develop a new standard for interVASP messaging to assist the virtual asset industry to more rapidly respond to the FATF Recommendations. She is also a member of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) technical committee on DLT and has sat as an expert on several of its working groups. She also sits on the BSI National Mirror Committee on DLT, the Financial Markets Law Committee DLT working group and, until July 2019, was a delegate and technical expert on virtual assets on the FATF’s Policy Development Group. Siân also leads the Brussels-based European Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Forum, a public policy platform helping EU policymakers and legislators shape sound policy and regulation.

Before XReg Consulting, Siân was seconded to the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission as Senior Adviser on DLT, having previously architected Gibraltar’s DLT regulatory framework. Her 48-year career in information technology, security, data protection and compliance has included working in Europe, the Middle East and Asia in industries as diverse as banking, transport, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and security.

Ana James

Senior Consultant

Ana James

Ana is a Senior Consultant at XReg Consulting, where she delivers comprehensive advisory services to both public and private sector clients. Her expertise includes regulatory authorisations, remediation, development of tailored regulatory frameworks, risk assessments, training and implementing systems to mitigate risks and ensure compliance.

Since joining XReg in 2019, Ana has advised national governments on crypto-asset risk assessments, supported regulatory authorities in drafting rules and guidance and contributed to global associations’ responses to EU crypto-asset legislation. Her thought leadership extends to XReg’s content marketing efforts, where she has authored reports and articles and hosted webinars on the latest developments in the crypto-asset sector.

Ana began her career at the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC), serving in the Authorisations and International and Government Affairs teams. As International Policy Advisor, she liaised with regulators and public sector entities, enhancing GFSC's role in global forums. Ana holds the Chartered Insurance Institute’s core qualification (CII) and a Global Certificate in Securities Markets Regulation from IOSCO/PIFS-Harvard Law School.

FAQs

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