Art. 83 Assessment of proposed acquisitions of crypto-asset service providers | MiCA regulation | MiCA

This article establishes the notification and assessment process governing changes in qualifying holdings in crypto-asset service providers.

It mirrors the regime set out in Article 41 for issuers of asset-referenced tokens, applying the same logic to crypto-asset service providers: anyone intending to acquire, increase, reduce, or dispose of a qualifying holding must notify the relevant competent authority before doing so.

The article then sets out a structured timeline for the competent authority to assess the proposed acquisition, consult relevant bodies such as anti-money laundering authorities, and either approve or oppose the transaction.

Silence within the assessment window is treated as approval.

Important points:

Notify the competent authority in writing before acquiring or increasing a qualifying holding in a crypto-asset service provider that would reach or exceed the 20%, 30%, or 50% thresholds, or result in the provider becoming a subsidiary.
Competent authorities are required to complete their assessment within 60 working days of acknowledging receipt, with a possible suspension of up to 20 working days if additional information is requested from the proposed acquirer.
Competent authorities are required to treat a proposed acquisition as approved if they do not formally oppose it before the assessment deadline expires.

1. Any natural or legal person or such persons acting in concert who have taken a decision either to acquire, directly or indirectly, (the ‘ proposed acquirer’) a qualifying holding in a crypto-asset service provider or to increase, directly or indirectly, such a qualifying holding so that the proportion of the voting rights or of the capital held would reach or exceed 20 %, 30 % or 50 % or so that the crypto-asset service provider would become its subsidiary, shall notify the competent authority of that crypto-asset service provider thereof in writing indicating the size of the intended holding and the information required pursuant to the regulatory technical standards adopted by the Commission in accordance with Article 84(4).
1. Any natural or legal person who has taken a decision to dispose, directly or indirectly, of a qualifying holding in a crypto-asset service provider shall, prior to disposing of that holding, notify in writing the competent authority of its decision and indicate the size of such holding. That person shall also notify the competent authority where it has taken a decision to reduce a qualifying holding so that the proportion of the voting rights or of the capital held would fall below 10 %, 20 %, 30 % or 50 % or so that the crypto-asset service provider would cease to be that person’s subsidiary.
1. The competent authority shall, promptly and in any event within two working days following receipt of a notification pursuant to paragraph 1, acknowledge receipt thereof in writing.
1. The competent authority shall assess the proposed acquisition referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and the information required pursuant to the regulatory technical standards adopted by the Commission in accordance with Article 84(4) within 60 working days of the date of the written acknowledgement of receipt referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article. When acknowledging receipt of the notification, the competent authority shall inform the proposed acquirer of the date of expiry of the assessment period.
1. For the purposes of the assessment referred to in paragraph 4, the competent authority may consult the competent authorities for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing and financial intelligence units and shall duly consider their views.
1. When performing the assessment referred to in paragraph 4, the competent authority may request from the proposed acquirer any additional information that is necessary to complete that assessment. Such request shall be made before the assessment is finalised, and in any case no later than on the 50th working day from the date of the written acknowledgement of receipt referred to in paragraph 3. Such requests shall be made in writing and shall specify the additional information needed.
2. The competent authority shall suspend the assessment period referred to in paragraph 4, until they have received the additional information referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph. The suspension shall not exceed 20 working days. Any further requests by the competent authority for additional information or for clarification of the information received shall not result in an additional suspension of the assessment period.
3. The competent authority may extend the suspension referred to in the second subparagraph of this paragraph by up to 30 working days if the proposed acquirer is situated outside the Union or regulated under the law of a third country.
1. A competent authority that, upon completion of the assessment referred to in paragraph 4 decides to oppose the proposed acquisition referred to in paragraph 1, shall notify the proposed acquirer thereof within two working days and in any event before the date referred to in paragraph 4 extended, where applicable, in accordance with paragraph 6, second and third subparagraphs. The notification shall provide the reasons for such a decision.
1. Where the competent authority does not oppose the proposed acquisition referred to in paragraph 1 before the date referred to in paragraph 4 extended, where applicable, in accordance with paragraph 6, second and third subparagraphs, the proposed acquisition shall be deemed to be approved.
1. The competent authority may set a maximum period for concluding the proposed acquisition referred to in paragraph 1, and extend that maximum period where appropriate.