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ECB Supports EU Plan to Move Cross-Border CASP Supervision to ESMA

ECB Supports EU Plan to Move Cross-Border CASP Supervision to ESMA

According to Reuters, the European Central Bank supports shifting supervision of crypto-asset service providers and other market infrastructures from national regulators to ESMA, while calling for adequate resources and a phased transition.

Fact Check
The claim is strongly supported by Reuters' article "ECB backs EU plan to centralise financial supervision | Reuters," which states that the ECB endorsed the European Commission proposal to move oversight of major cross-border financial market players, including crypto-asset service providers, from national authorities to ESMA. The same Reuters source explicitly says the ECB noted ESMA needed sufficient resources and staffing and recommended that the transition from national to EU-level supervision be sequenced to minimize disruption. The secondary report "ECB backs ESMA as single supervisor for big EU crypto firms" aligns with these points. ESMA's official "Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA)" page does not itself confirm the Reuters-specific April 2026 opinion, but it supports the broader institutional context that ESMA is already central to MiCA-related supervision.
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Summary

The European Central Bank has backed an EU proposal to move supervision of crypto-asset service providers and other market infrastructures from national authorities to the European Securities and Markets Authority. According to Reuters, the proposal would centralize oversight in the Paris-based regulator as part of broader EU market integration efforts. The ECB said ESMA would need sufficient staffing and funding to handle the expanded mandate and urged a phased transition to reduce disruption.

Terms & Concepts
  • ESMA: The European Securities and Markets Authority is the EU regulator overseeing securities markets and supervisory coordination across member states.
  • CASP: A crypto-asset service provider is a company that offers services such as trading, custody, exchange, or transfers involving digital assets.