The EU plans to grant ESMA greater powers to comprehensively regulate the cryptocurrency and stock markets

ChainCatcher news, according to market reports, the European Commission is brewing a comprehensive reform plan to grant the EU market regulatory authority—the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)—direct oversight of stock exchanges, cryptocurrency companies, and clearinghouses.

ESMA Chair Verena Ross stated that this move aims to address the long-standing issue of fragmentation in the EU financial markets and to create a more integrated and globally competitive capital market. Currently, the regulatory authority over crypto asset service providers (CASPs) is mainly exercised by individual member states under the MiCA framework, but ESMA believes that this fragmented regulation is inefficient and undermines consumer protection. However, the proposal has faced opposition from smaller countries like Luxembourg and Malta, which warn that centralizing power could harm the local financial industry.