ESMA Cracks Down: New EU Crypto Market Abuse Rules Put Traders on Notice
Regulators sharpen their knives as crypto’s wild west era gets a Brussels makeover.
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) just dropped its long-awaited playbook for spotting and stopping crypto market manipulation. No more pretending decentralized means unregulated—these guidelines give national watchdogs a unified framework to hunt down wash trading, spoofing, and insider deals.
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Key takeaways for exchanges and traders: expect stricter surveillance requirements and real-time data sharing across EU jurisdictions. The rules cleverly sidestep crypto’s ’not-an-asset’ legal limbo by focusing on abusive behaviors rather than asset classifications.
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One cynical footnote? These measures arrive just as traditional banks face their own market abuse scandals—proving once again that finance’s dirty laundry comes in both fiat and crypto flavors.
