The European Union seeks the opinion of stakeholders on the increase of the crypto investment market to 12T euros

The European Union's securities watchdog, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), is seeking expert opinion on crypto's rise to a 12 trillion euro ($12.8 trillion) investment product market.

The ESA has asked industry experts to comment on the agreement on UCITS – an investment product market worth 12 trillion euros – for various asset classes such as structured or leveraged loans, risk bonds, emission allowances, commodities. , crypto assets and unlisted stocks.

UCITS are a class of investment funds that consist of products intended to protect and diversify investment flows. UCITS usually consist of mutual, exchange-traded or money market funds. EU regulations govern these funds; However, non-EU investors may also experience exposure.

UCITS stakeholders have until August 7 to submit their comments. If approved, UCITS will become one of the largest major funds with exposure to crypto.

The question of expert opinions comes at a time when spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds are accepted in the United States and Hong Kong, while security regulators around the world are heating up crypto exposure in traditional investment vehicles.

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While spot BTC ETFs are exclusively crypto-specific, UCITS investments are divided into several fund types, each with a specific asset allocation based on the fund's risk profile.

If approved, there will not be a standalone UCITS fund with a 100% crypto allocation, but multiple UCITS funds with a percentage allocation in crypto.

EU laws currently prohibit independent crypto-focused investment products. Therefore, investors should acquire through exchange-traded notes.

The European Union is known for its strict crypto regulation policy. It is one of the first states to introduce a comprehensive crypto regulatory framework in the form of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

One of the questions asked by ESMA in its opinion is how adding certain cryptocurrencies to the framework will or will not be affected by MiCA.

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