ESMA Publishes Q&As on Crypto Client Funds, Crowdfunding Fees and AAR Rules

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published five new questions and answers addressing how crypto-asset service providers handle client funds, fees charged by crowdfunding platforms and several AAR requirements. The updates appear in ESMA’s Questions and Answers section and cover topics numbered 2949, 2950 and 2936 to 2938. One question addresses the use by crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) of payment accounts provided by non-bank payment service providers to hold clients’ funds. Another concerns crowdfunding service providers that charge registration, membership or other access fees, described in the update as “investment club” crowdfunding platforms. The remaining three questions concern AAR: an 85% exemption, calculation of AAR thresholds and the AAR representativeness obligation. The announcement lists these subjects but does not reproduce the answers, so it does not establish further details about how ESMA interprets the requirements. The publication adds guidance on issues relevant to providers operating in crypto-asset and crowdfunding markets, alongside the specified AAR topics. Firms and other affected market participants can consult the individual Q&As in ESMA’s Questions and Answers section for the regulator’s responses.