EU Expands Crypto Central Contact Requirements to Digital Asset Firms
The European Commission has adopted a new delegated act that extends the EU Crypto Central Contact requirements to digital asset firms. This move brings crypto exchanges and similar platforms operating across borders in line with rules that have applied to traditional payment and e-cash issuers for years.
The underlying framework requires certain foreign firms operating in an EU country without a full branch presence to appoint a designated local representative who liaises directly with that country's regulators. This representative acts on behalf of the appointing company and helps ensure day-to-day compliance with local anti-financial crime and counter-terrorist financing rules.
The legal basis for this expansion traces back to a 2023 regulation on information accompanying fund transfers, which broadened underlying anti-money laundering law to formally cover digital asset service providers for the first time. The European Banking Authority spent months drafting updated technical standards to close the gap created by this change.