TechFlow News, February 25: According to a Cointelegraph report, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a notice urging relevant entities to assess investment instruments offering leveraged exposure to cryptocurrencies. ESMA stated that derivative products—including those marketed as “perpetual futures” or “perpetual contracts,” such as those linked to Bitcoin or Ethereum—are likely subject to the scope of the Contracts for Difference (CFD) intervention measures.
ESMA emphasized that derivatives meeting the definition of CFDs will be subject to the applicable product intervention requirements, including leverage limits, mandatory risk warnings, margin close-out rules, negative balance protection, and prohibitions on monetary and non-monetary benefits. As the compliance supervisory authority under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework, ESMA called on firms to take appropriate measures to identify, prevent, or manage potential conflicts of interest arising from offering such products.
