European Commission Proposes Centralizing Crypto Oversight Under ESMA to Enhance EU Market Integration
On December 5, 2025, the European Commission proposed transferring the supervision of cryptocurrency companies from individual EU member states to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in an effort to fully integrate EU financial markets.
The goal of this move is to reduce fragmentation caused by differing national supervisory approaches and to improve cross-border oversight. Under the proposal, ESMA would gain direct supervisory competences, potentially bringing crypto oversight closer to having an EU equivalent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
This plan follows concerns regarding the implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation and calls from France's AMF, Austria's FMA, and Italy's Consob for tighter control by ESMA. Currently, ESMA mainly coordinates supervision rather than exercising direct oversight; this proposal would expand its supervisory role significantly.
The European Commission argues that fragmentation harms competitiveness, economies of scale, and efficiency, and that tighter central oversight would be more effective for overseeing cross-border activities. This initiative is part of broader measures aimed at fully integrating EU financial markets and unifying oversight of crypto and other financial services under a single body.
The proposals must be negotiated and approved by the European Parliament and the European Council before coming into effect.
