Scope — Which Crypto-Assets Are Covered
MiCA's market-abuse rules apply to crypto-assets admitted to trading, or for which a request for admission to trading has been made, on a trading platform operated by an authorised CASP. The conduct rules bite regardless of where the abusive behaviour takes place or whether it is carried out on or off the platform.
So the regime does not catch every token everywhere — it targets assets that have entered a regulated trading venue. But once an asset is listed, anyone dealing in it, and the platform itself, are within scope.
What Counts as Inside Information
Inside information is information of a precise nature, not public, relating directly or indirectly to one or more crypto-assets or issuers, which if made public would be likely to have a significant effect on the price of those crypto-assets. Persons who possess inside information must, in general, disclose it to the public as soon as possible where it concerns assets they have admitted to trading, and may delay disclosure only under defined conditions.
Issuers and platforms therefore need a clear process for identifying inside information, deciding on disclosure or legitimate delay, and keeping insider lists.
The Ban on Insider Dealing & Unlawful Disclosure
Two prohibitions sit at the core of the regime:
- Insider dealing (Art. 89): using inside information to acquire or dispose of the crypto-assets to which it relates, or to amend or cancel an order. Recommending or inducing another person to deal on the basis of inside information is also prohibited.
- Unlawful disclosure (Art. 90): disclosing inside information to any other person, except where the disclosure is made in the normal exercise of employment, profession, or duties.
These rules apply to anyone who possesses inside information — founders, employees, advisers, validators, or outsiders who obtained it.
Prohibited Market Manipulation
Article 91 prohibits market manipulation, which includes:
- Entering transactions or orders that give false or misleading signals as to supply, demand, or price;
- Securing the price of a crypto-asset at an abnormal or artificial level;
- Transactions using fictitious devices or deception;
- Disseminating false or misleading information — including through media or online channels — that affects price.
Familiar crypto behaviours map directly onto these prohibitions: wash trading, spoofing, pump-and-dump schemes, and coordinated social-media "shilling" of a listed asset are all squarely in scope.
What Trading Platforms Must Do
Article 92 requires CASPs operating trading platforms to have effective systems, procedures, and arrangements to prevent and detect market abuse. In practice this means:
- Automated trade surveillance to flag suspicious orders and transactions;
- Procedures to report suspicious transactions and orders to the competent authority without delay;
- Recordkeeping sufficient to support investigations;
- Staff training and escalation paths.
This is comparable to the surveillance obligations on regulated securities venues — and it is a build that should be scoped into platform authorization, alongside operational-resilience controls.
Consequences of Breach
Breaching the market-abuse rules exposes individuals and firms to administrative sanctions and, depending on national implementation, criminal liability. NCAs have investigative and sanctioning powers, including significant fines and disgorgement. For a platform, failure to operate adequate surveillance is itself a breach — independent of whether abuse actually occurred.
Market integrity is therefore not optional polish; it is a licensing condition. Building credible surveillance and disclosure processes is part of running a compliant CASP.
