INTRODUCTION
Ireland's strong technology and financial services sectors make Ireland a natural choice for establishing a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) to service EU/EEA customers.
CASPs are regulated entities authorised to provide crypto-asset services relating to any cryptoasset, which may include some or all of the following, depending on the terms of the authorisation:
- Providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;
- Operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;
- Exchange of crypto-assets for funds;
- Exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;
- Execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;
- Placing of crypto-assets;
- Reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;
- Providing advice on crypto-assets;
- Providing portfolio management on crypto-assets; and/or
- Providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients.
Authorisations from the Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) as a CASP are granted under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR).
William Fry's Band-1 ranked Financial Regulation team has a strong track record of securing regulatory authorisations and registrations successfully and efficiently for a wide range of regulated FinTechs including virtual asset service providers (VASPs), payment institutions, crowdfunding service providers and one third of the electronic money institutions authorised in Ireland to date.
PROCESS AND TIMELINES FOR SECURING AUTHORISATION AS A CASP
Stage |
Stage Target Timeline |
|---|---|
| Pre-Application Engagement Phase | |
| Early Engagement with the Central Bank | The Central Bank has made clear that it is open to early engagement with prospective applicants. Applicant firms already authorised or registered by the Central Bank should contact their existing Central Bank supervisory contacts to arrange an introductory meeting. Applicant firms not already authorised or registered by the Central Bank should make contact via the Central Bank Innovation Hub to arrange an introductory meeting. At the introductory meeting, the applicant will have the opportunity to present a slide deck providing an overview of its business model and the Central Bank will present its authorisation and supervisory expectations. |
| Key Facts Document preparation | A Key Facts Document (KFD) must be prepared before the more formal pre-application meeting. The KFD should contain a summary overview of the applicant's proposed arrangements, including organisational and shareholder charts. The Central Bank will publish a template KFD in the coming weeks. |
| Pre-application meeting between the Central Bank and the applicant | The applicant will present the KFD to the Central Bank at the more formal preapplication meeting. The meeting is an opportunity for the applicant and the Central Bank to discuss the KFD's contents. The Central Bank may raise questions regarding the information in the KFD and highlight initial matters or areas of focus that the applicant might need to address. |
Formal Application Stage |
|
|---|---|
| Application Submission | The full formal application is submitted to the Central Bank. The Central Bank will publish the template CASP authorisation application form in Q4 2024. |
| Acknowledgement | The Central Bank must acknowledge receipt of the application for authorisation as a CASP within 5 working days of receipt. |
| Assessment stage |
The Central Bank must decide whether an application for authorisation as a CASP is complete within 25 working days of receipt. Where the application is not complete, the Central Bank must set a deadline by which the applicant is to provide any missing information. |
| Notification of assessment stage | The Central Bank must notify the applicant within five working days of deciding to grant or refuse a CASP authorisation application of whether its assessment of the application is favourable. |
MAIN FEATURES OF THE APPLICATION FOR AUTHORISATION AS A CASP
The main workstreams in an application for authorisation as a CASP include:
- Programme of operations.
- Prudential requirements.
- Governance arrangements and internal control mechanisms.
- Structural organisation.
- Business continuity plans.
- Anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CFT) policies and procedures.
- Measures to safeguard client assets.
- Details of ICT systems and related security arrangements.
- Procedures for monitoring, handling and following up on security incidents.
- Complaints handling procedures.
- Procedures for the segregation of client crypto assets and funds.
- Completed Individual Questionnaires for all proposed holders of functions requiring prior Central Bank approval (e.g. directors and certain senior managers).
- Information relating to those having direct and indirect qualifying holdings.
- Other policies and procedures depending on the particular types of crypto-asset services which the applicant intends to provide.
KEY ISSUES FOR THE APPLICANTS
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.