Clifford Chance

Welcome to this week's global fintech round-up, summarising fintech regulatory developments that have happened around the world along with our Clifford Chance fintech publications and upcoming events.

Details of these and previous developments can also be found on our Fintech Topic Guide on the Clifford Chance Financial Markets Toolkit.

CLIFFORD CHANCE BRIEFINGS AND MATERIALS

• Clifford Chance briefing – The EU Cyber Resilience Act – Towards a safe and secure digital market in Europe
• Talking Tech article – SEC Invents "AI Washing" with Focus on Investment Adviser Practices
• Talking Tech article – Data Centre World and The Tech Show - Key takeaways

Watch on-demand

GLOBAL LEGAL AND REGULATORY UPDATES, INDUSTRY GUIDANCE AND PUBLICATIONS

International

• (15 Mar 2024) Declaration by the Industry, Tech & Digital Ministers of the G7 following their meeting in in Verona and Trento to discuss the impact of digital innovation on economic growth and industrial competitiveness, and how to leverage digital transformation and AI. Amongst other things, the G7 have agreed to develop a report by the end of 2024 on analysing driving factors and challenges of AI adoption and development among companies, providing policy options for G7 governments to promote safe, secure, and trustworthy adoption of this emerging technology whilst ensuring the full respect of applicable legal rights, including intellectual property rights and protection of trade secrets. | UK Government press release

Americas

U.S

• (22 Mar 2024) Speech by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler on the benefits of mandatory disclosure, in which he argued that some participants in crypto securities markets seek to avoid the SEC's rules requiring registration of public offerings and ongoing disclosures.

APAC

Australia:     

• (20 Mar 2024) Speech by Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) Commissioner Alan Kirkland, in which he outlined how ASIC seeks to promote the growth of responsible financial innovation by balancing its approach to enabling innovation with consumer protection and market integrity outcomes.

Europe

EU:

• (27 Mar 2024) The EU Commission will be hosting a workshop on asset tokenisation on 11 June 2024, covering tokenisation of funds, secondary markets, and interoperability and standardisation. The workshop will be held physically in Brussels, bringing together selected stakeholders. The workshop will not be streamed online. The deadline for expressions of interest is 12 April 2024 23:59 Brussels time. | Event webpage
• (25 Mar 2024) European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) third consultation package under the Markets in Cryptoassets Regulation (MiCA), seeking feedback  - by 25 June 2024 - on the following four sets of proposed rules and guidelines: 
  • regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the detection and reporting of suspected market abuse in cryptoassets;
  • guidelines on policies and procedures for cryptoasset transfer services, including the rights of clients;
  • guidelines on the suitability requirements for certain cryptoasset services and the format of the periodic statement for portfolio management; and
  • guidelines on ICT operational resilience for certain entities under MiCA

•  (25 Mar 2024) ESMA final report on the first package of technical standards under MiCA, on which it consulted in July 2023 and which comprises rules relating to the authorisation, identification and complaint handling procedures of cryptoasset service providers (CASPs). In particular, the final report on this package includes the technical standards for the following mandates: 
  • Article 60(13): RTS on content of notification from selected entities to NCAs
  • Article 60(14): ITS on forms and templates for notification from entities to NCA
  • Article 62(5): RTS on the content of the application for authorisation for CASPs
  • Article 62(6): ITS on forms and templates for CASP authorisation application
  • Article 71(5): RTS on complaint handling procedure
  • Article 84(4): RTS on intended acquisition information requirements
• ESMA intends to publish its final report on RTS on conflicts of interest for CASPs (in accordance with Article 72(5) of MiCA) at a later stage to allow the European Banking Authority (EBA) to conclude its consultation process and ensure maximum alignment.
• (25 Mar 2024) ESMA final report specifying requirements for cooperation under MiCA, which contains two draft RTS and two draft ITS relating to: 
  • the exchange of information between competent authorities;
  • procedures, forms and templates for the exchange of information between competent authorities;
  • procedures, forms and templates for exchange of information between competent authorities and ESMA or the EBA; and
  • the template for cooperation with third-country authorities.
• (25 Mar 2024) The EU Parliament has published a corrigendum which corrects some minor errors in the adopted text of MiCA, along with extending the period allowed for Member States to make a notification to the Commission, ESMA and the EBA about the existence of certain national law administrative penalties and measures in relation to MiCA.

France:

• (21 Mar 2024) Haut Comité Juridique de la Place Financière de Paris (HCJP) report (in French) on MiCA, which contains contributions from Clifford Chance's Frédérick Lacroix and Pierre d'Ormesson and underlines the need to adapt French law to the new EU rules while ensuring the attractiveness of the Paris financial marketplace. Developments are proposed to facilitate the transfer of ownership of cryptoassets, with adaptations for intermediated cryptoassets

Luxembourg:

• (25 Mar 2024) The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) has launched a new webpage dedicated to the EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). The webpage is intended to provide financial entities with an introduction to DORA, as well as continuous updates on the latest developments.

UK:

• (26 Mar 2024) Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) finalised guidance (FG24/1) on financial promotions on social media, setting out its expectations on how these should be communicated and warning that unauthorised persons, such as influencers, who promote financial products or services that are subject to regulation without the approval of an FCA authorised person may be committing a criminal offence. | Press release
• (26 Mar 2024) The Technology Working Group (TWG), a subset of the Economic Secretary’s Asset Management Taskforce, has published a second report on its work on the implementation of fund tokenisation in the UK, which contains:
  • a summary of responses received to the approach proposed in the first report and an overview of relevant developments that have occurred since its publication;
  • further use cases for fund tokenisation;
  • details of the TWG's vision for the future of fund tokenisation and its recommended path to achieving it; and
  • practical guides for firms considering using tokenisation, including model fund prospectus risk factors and a discussion of technical standards for interoperable tokens and networks.
• (21 Mar 2024) HM Treasury policy paper on its approach to designating critical third parties to the UK financial services sector. The paper outlines the process from receipt of a recommendation from the financial regulators, through engagement with the third party supplier, the financial regulators, and other relevant organisations, to the consideration of evidence before a designation decision. | Web