ESMA Targets Reverse Solicitation in Crypto Regulation Priorities

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has announced its work programme for 2027, which includes prioritizing the regulation of reverse solicitation in the crypto market. Reverse solicitation refers to a provision under Article 61 of the MiCA regulation that allows non-EU licensed crypto exchanges to serve EU customers if the client requests it exclusively.

The ESMA guidelines from February 2025 state that any act promoting or offering crypto services to EU clients can be considered solicitation, and that consent from users does not protect providers. The authority has put reverse solicitation on its list of supervisory priorities for 2027, which means they will focus on ensuring compliance with this regulation.

The ESMA work programme also includes five key areas of focus for crypto supervision: operational resilience, outsourcing, liquidity, reverse solicitation, and classification of assets. These areas are not new rules, but rather examination fields that the authority will review evenly across all member states in 2027. The ESMA is working to strengthen supervisory convergence in the EU, including on the supervision of crypto-asset service providers under MiCA.