ESMA’s latest crypto register update just dropped and something keeps catching our eye.
Out of hundreds of whitepapers submitted, still zero Asset-Referenced Tokens (ARTs) are registered. That’s right. Not a single gold-backed, basket-based, or reference-linked asset in sight.
Yet, under MiCA, Title III (which governs ARTs) spans 32 articles across 32 pages, making it the second most detailed section after enforcement.
So here we are:
Hundreds of legal hours.
Dozens of articles.
And... a blank page.
Meanwhile, EMTs (stablecoins) have hit a regulatory ceiling. The CASP list trickles forward. And the Name & Shame list just welcomed MEXC, with unclear justification despite the transitional period still in effect.
At some point, we have to ask:
Can innovation really thrive under frameworks built for a reality that hasn’t emerged?
Recent research by Nobel laureate Philippe Aghion suggests that overregulation often chokes innovation rather than supports it.
MiCA claims to support both innovation and protection but the scoreboard seems one-sided so far.
We’re watching closely.
What about you? What's your take?
