The EU is taking action: cryptocurrency regulatory authority will be unified under ESMA

[BlockBeats] The EU is getting serious this time. On December 5, news broke that the European Commission plans to centralize regulatory authority over crypto companies under the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). This isn’t a minor adjustment—it’s part of what they call a “comprehensive integration” move for financial markets.

To put it simply, they want to solve a long-standing issue: the 27 member states each have their own approach, with regulatory standards all over the place. What’s compliant in France might not work in Austria. This fragmented state makes cross-border business extremely troublesome.

There have been signs of this coming. Previously, national regulators like France’s AMF, Austria’s FMA, and Italy’s Consob were not satisfied with the effectiveness of MiCA’s implementation and have been calling for ESMA to take on more authority. Now it seems Brussels has listened.

Of course, nothing’s set in stone yet. The proposal still needs approval from both the European Parliament and the European Council. But the message is clear: the EU intends to form a unified front on crypto regulation.