Key Takeaways
- The ECB has backed a European Commission plan to shift supervision of crypto-asset service providers from national regulators to ESMA.
- The central bank said the move would make oversight more consistent across the bloc.
- The ECB also said ESMA will need enough staff, funding and time to take on the role smoothly.
- The proposal now heads into negotiations between EU governments and the European Parliament.
The European Central Bank has backed a European Commission proposal to move supervision of crypto-asset service providers to the European Securities and Markets Authority, a step that would reshape how the EU oversees digital-asset firms under the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, or MiCA.
In an opinion dated April 9, 2026, the ECB said it “fully supports” the Commission’s wider package on capital-markets integration and financial supervision within the Union.
As part of that package, the ECB endorsed direct European-level supervision of certain large and cross-border market actors and backed giving ESMA stronger governance, resources and oversight powers.
What the Proposal Would Change
For crypto, the proposal would transfer authorization, monitoring and enforcement powers for crypto-asset service providers from national competent authorities to ESMA.
The ECB said that handover would “ensure supervisory convergence, reduce fragmentation and mitigate cross-border risks in crypto-asset markets.”
That would mark a meaningful change from MiCA’s current supervisory structure.
MiCA created a single EU rulebook for crypto markets.
However, day-to-day authorization and supervision still sit largely with national regulators.
Meanwhile, the ESMA plays a coordination role at the bloc level.
ESMA already plays a central role in MiCA’s rollout, including technical standards and public registers.
This makes it a natural candidate if Brussels wants to move crypto oversight closer to the EU level.
The ECB also backed bringing other regulated financial firms under ESMA once crypto-asset services become their main activity.
It added that the thresholds for that transfer may need refinement.
The bank warned that turnover alone may not fully capture the risks tied to custody providers and trading venues.
Why the ECB Supports the Plan
The ECB cast the proposal as part of a wider effort to tighten capital markets integration across the EU.
In its opinion, the central bank said that more unified supervision would help reduce fragmentation, support cross-border investment, and strengthen the bloc’s competitiveness.
For crypto, the ECB is backing a supervisory model that better matches the structure of a cross-border market.
Conditions and Political Weight
The ECB’s support came with a warning: expanding ESMA’s role on paper would mean little without the capacity to carry it out.
In its opinion, the ECB said ESMA would need enough staff, funding and a carefully managed transition to take over supervision from national regulators.
That warning comes amid a wider debate over how much supervisory power should move to Brussels.
France and Germany have been among the strongest supporters of a more centralized model, while some smaller member states have been less eager to hand more authority to Paris-based ESMA.
The ECB’s opinion gives the Commission’s proposal added weight as negotiations begin among EU governments and the European Parliament.
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