Regulating crypto assets

The EU experience

In July 2025 the European regulator ESMA issued Guidelines for providers of crypto asset services (CASP), such as crypto wallets, crypto exchanges, crypto converters, etc. The guidance is aimed at marketing practices that mislead consumers as to whether the assets¹ traded are regulated under MiCA or not.

ESMA warns that if a platform with a CASP license issued under MiCA to provide crypto asset services simultaneously offers both MiCA-regulated crypto assets (e.g., stablecoins)² and unregulated (e.g., NFT ), this creates a risk of misleading consumers about the level of protection for each asset. The presence of a CASP license creates a “halo effect”: consumers mistakenly believe that all of the platform's products are reliable and regulated. ESMA prohibits the use of the MiCA license as a marketing tool to promote products that are not covered by MiCA regulation, and also provides recommendations to CASPs:

– At every stage of interaction with the consumer – in advertising, on the website, and in the contract – it is necessary to indicate whether a specific product is subject to MiCA regulation, with non-regulated services being identified as such and information about them being provided separately.

– Before connecting a customer to an unregulated service, you must warn them about this and obtain confirmation that they have read and understood the information.

In July 2025, ESMA released a brief expert assessment report on how the Maltese regulator MFSA issued the first CASP license³ under MiCA. ESMA notes that the MiCA licensing procedure for CASPs was too rushed: plans for onboarding new clients, the quality of⁴ CASPs' corporate governance, AML/CFT procedures, and other aspects were not properly verified. Since a CASP license issued in one EU country allows the provider to offer services throughout the EU, the uniformity and quality of the licensing review process is important. Therefore, ESMA recommended that the assessment of these risks be refined in the future and emphasized the need to disclose information to clients when offering MiCA- regulated and non-MiCA-regulated services together.

The US experience

In July 2025, the United States passed⁵ the Payment Stablecoin Act (GENIUS Act). The Act establishes licensing requirements for stablecoin issuers, requirements for stablecoin reserve backing (e.g., through fiat currencies) and regular reporting to the regulator on the composition of these reserves, as well as compliance with AML/KYC. The Act also prohibits charging interest to stablecoin holders and using marketing statements that create the impression of a government guarantee. The key provisions of the GENIUS Act were analyzed in the May Monitoring Report No. 5 (17), and in July, the law came into force at the federal level.

Russia’s experience

In July 2025, a bill was introduced in the State Duma on fines for payments in⁶ cryptocurrency from 2026 to Rb 200,000 for individuals, and up to Rb 1 mn for legal entities, and the cryptocurrency used will be confiscated. The head of the Duma committee called crypto payments a “gray area” and clarified that the bill would enshrine the ruble as the only legal tender.⁷

Currently, Law No. 259-FZ on digital financial assets prohibits the use of digital currencies as a means of payment, but does not provide for any penalties for doing so. However, since September 2024, the Bank of Russia has been granted the right to launch an experimental legal regime (ELR) under which foreign trade⁸ settlements in digital currency are permitted.

It should be noted that in Russia, tokens⁹ falling under MiCA (ART/EMT ) may be classified as digital financial assets (DFAs) in¹⁰ accordance with 259-FZ. Russian law, like the ESMA clarification, imposes requirements on the advertising of DFAs: the issuer and the website with the decision on the issue must be indicated, a warning about risks/possible loss of funds must be included, promises of returns and price growth forecasts must be prohibited, and advertising must be placed before the decision on the issue of DFAs is published. There are currently no regulations governing stablecoins in Russia.

From the monitoring issue No. 7 (19), July 2025. Download the full issue (PDF) · issue page at the Gaidar Institute