EU MiCA: Most projects now require a White Paper did you know?

So what actually triggers the need for a White Paper? If you're offering a crypto-asset publicly in the EU, or if your asset is getting listed on an EU crypto trading platform, then you're in this boat. This applies not just to those typical ICO/IDO token launches, but also covers a wide range of protocols, dApps, games, memberships, and NFT drops when they are available to the public or on a trading platform. For most assets that aren’t stablecoins, this falls under a notify-and-publish rule: you need to inform the national authority and publish your White Paper (no prior approval needed). Once you notify them, your White Papers should get listed in an ESMA register. Who can issue a White Paper? The issuer has to be a legal entity, not just an individual. So basically, you should: Set up and register a company (it’s best if it’s an EU legal entity). For any public offers or trading admissions, make sure to notify and publish your White Paper with the relevant national authority following MiCA guidelines. For instance, Estonia has set up a pathway for dealing with MiCA White Paper notifications and registrations through its financial regulator. What should be included in the White Paper? (just the basics) Details about the project and the issuer, a roadmap. Information on asset features and tokenomics (like rights, supply, and any restrictions). Terms and conditions for the offer/listing (how and where it happens, any limits). Risks that need to be specific and detailed. ESG and impact disclosures. Required disclaimers (can't promise returns). Stick to a language that’s standard in international finance (English is the go-to). Keep it public and updated. Marketing and retail protections Make sure your marketing is fair, clear, not misleading, and aligns with what's in the White Paper. If you’re doing direct retail distributions, there might be a 14-day right for withdrawals (with some details to consider).

And what do you think, if at least one of the tens of thousands of NFTs and meme tokens that are issued daily on Solana comply with the MiCA laws? This is the kind of experience we can all constantly observe on platforms like Pump and Fan If you find a project, give me a link to it. I'll read about it.

Finding a fully MiCA-compliant meme token today is like looking for a unicorn on Solana — everyone talks about it, nobody’s seen it 🦄😉 But seriously, this is yet another challenge for EU regulators. It is clear that no one will register tokens that live for 15 minutes, but that is why the MiCA compliance mark is needed so that potential investors have more confidence in the project.

The last thing I need is a bunch of EU bureaucrats, that is parasites, deciding for me which project is good enough to invest my money in.

Good post. Only wanted to add that there is one more group of "exceptions" which is not made explicit in the exception list in the OP but instead can be deduced from what "offered to the public" means: If the coins/units are only given out for validation tasks by the protocol (e.g. mining) or they are given out completely (!) for free [1], there is no obligation to publish a MiCa whitepaper. Source: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1114/oj/eng This means Bitcoin [2] , Litecoin, Monero [3] and Dogecoin, but also BCH and BSV, do not need MiCa whitepapers to be listed on EU exchanges. If there is however even a small premine then the obligation applies to my knowledge. I have suspected for some time this could make the issuance of "no-premine" altcoins more attractive again, but until now I haven't seen that happen. Perhaps when the MiCa is fully in force for some time? IMO this would also remove the whitepaper obligations for memecoins which can be "minted" for free, e.g. Ordinals/Runes tokens. [1] It is not permitted to require personal data for an airdrop under this exception. [2] There is a Bitcoin MiCa whitepaper, but it is an academic experiment: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4759198 [3] Monero actually is de facto banned from centralized EU exchanges from 2026 or 2027 on due to the AMLR regulation prohibiting transaction/account obfuscation by using privacy coins. Most EU exchanges have already delisted it. It could perhaps be offered by stricter KYC requirements but probably few exchanges want to try out that risk.

With the EU's statist drift and penchant for hyper-regulation, I don't know why they don't just ban shitcoins outright while they are at it. I don't like excessive regulations, but I don't like shitcoins either, so I wouldn't mind it so much. What will be interesting is to see how the battle between the Euro CBDC and dollar-pegged stablecoins issued by the private sector plays out. I am clear about what the outcome will be, but what I think will be fun is the process.

If we discuss this topic seriously, then regulators will never hunt small projects, otherwise the entire crypto community will laugh at them. If we look at the past experience of the SEC, then regulators usually fine large projects from which you can get money. And small projects on Pump and Fan, which will die in a couple of hours or days, no one will consider seriously. At the very least, the regulator will write a warning to citizens about the risks of losing money.