ESMA’s guidelines on knowledge and competence of staff employed by CASPs

On 28 January 2026, ESMA published new guidelines under MiCA¹ clarifying obligations in Articles 68(5)² and 81(7)³ of MiCA (“Guidelines⁴”). The Guidelines, applicable as from 28 July 2026, set standards for the knowledge and competence of staff employed by CASPs, in particular those advising or informing clients about crypto-assets or related services.

The Guidelines cover four key areas: general expectations (Guideline 1), criteria for staff knowledge and competence when providing information and when giving advice (respectively Guidelines 2 and 3), and organisational requirements for assessment, maintenance and updating of knowledge and competence (Guideline 4). The annex to the Guidelines offers practical examples for CASPs on how to apply them.

General expectations

CASPs should ensure that staff giving advice or information on crypto-assets or crypto-asset services to clients possess the necessary knowledge and competence to meet legal, regulatory and ethical standards. They should know, understand and apply the internal policies and procedures of CASPs designed to ensure compliance with MiCA. According to the examples in the annex, CASPs may provide regular mandatory training to staff in the area of MiCA conduct of business and organisational requirements. It can also adopt a code of ethics setting the standards of business conduct obtaining written acknowledgements from staff that they have read, understood and complied with it.

The management body of the CASP must assess and review the policies and procedures designed for compliance with Articles 68(5) and 81(7) of MiCA, at least annually, and address any identified deficiencies.

Where advice or information is given in automated or semi-automated manner, the Guidelines still apply to staff responsible for the content of such information or advice delivered to clients.

The level and depth of knowledge and competence expected for staff giving advice on crypto-assets and crypto-asset services should be of a higher standard than those that only give information.

Guidelines 2 and 3: Knowledge and competence of staff giving information

Staff providing information to clients shall have the necessary knowledge and competence to understand, in particular, the key characteristics, risks and features of the crypto-asset services offered and the crypto-assets made available by the CASP; the functioning of distributed ledger technology; the functioning of the protocols; the types of costs and charges to be incurred by the client; the functioning of the crypto-asset markets and their impact on value and price of crypto-assets; the differences between investor protection safeguards under MiCA and under MiFID II; or issues relating to market abuse and market manipulation. The relevant knowledge and competence must be assessed either by the CASP itself or an external body by the obtention of a professional qualification (of at least 80 hours and 6 months of experience under supervision) or by appropriate experience under supervision (of at least 1 year).

In addition to the requirements applicable to the staff providing information, staff advising clients must also understand other aspects, such as the suitability requirements under Article 81 of MiCA or the fundamentals of managing a portfolio. For advising clients, required qualifications are more stringent and may be demonstrated by: the obtention of a degree of tertiary education of at least 3 years in a field such as economics, law or business administration plus at least 1 year of experience under supervision; or the obtention of a degree of secondary education plus training of at least 3 years and experience of at least 1 year under supervision; professional training of at least 160 hours and experience of at least 1 year under supervision; or professional experience of at least 2 years acquired in the provision of services under MiFID II⁵ or IDD⁶ and experience of at least 6 months in providing relevant crypto-asset services under supervision.

ESMA’s illustrative examples clarify that for the purposes of Guidelines 2 and 3, staff shall be familiar with the situations when the CASP may pay or receive an inducement and the relevant legal requirements regulating inducements. Additionally, with respect to Guideline 3, staff members are expected to demonstrate ability to: ask appropriate questions to clients on their investment objectives, financial situation, knowledge and experience; explain the risks and rewards linked to a particular crypto-asset or strategy; and compare selected crypto-assets and select the one best suited for the client’s profile.

Continuous professional development or training

CASPs shall also determine adequate minimum number of hours of continuous professional development (CPD) or training, with a minimum of 10 hours per year for the least complex services with respect to the provision of information and a minimum of 20 hours per year for giving advice. The relevant CPD schemes organised internally or by external bodies must include an examination of acquired knowledge.

Transitional measures for staff already providing information or advice

For the staff already providing information or advice at the date of the application of the Guidelines, it is considered that the staff has the required knowledge and competence (i) by giving information or providing advice on crypto-assets or crypto-asset services on a full-time equivalent basis, (ii) under or without supervision, and (iii) for a minimum period of 1 year, prior to the entry into application of the Guidelines.

Guideline 4: Organisational requirements

CASPs are required to set out and document staff’s roles and responsibilities clearly distinguishing between those giving advice and providing information. Moreover, CASPs shall re-assess the knowledge and competence of existing staff at least annually to ensure ongoing compliance with the Guidelines. In order to maintain the appropriate qualification of staff, the annex provides that CASPs shall, on a continuous basis, update material and test staff on, for example, regulatory changes, new assets or services on the market.

Additionally, it is essential for CASPs to maintain records of staff’s knowledge and competence as the competent authority may request them in order to assess compliance with the Guidelines.

Next steps

In practice, CASPs should treat the Guidelines as a compliance baseline to ensure that staff providing information or advice on crypto-assets or crypto-asset services are adequately qualified, supervised and continuously trained, and prepare adequately for the application of the Guidelines as from 28 July 2028.

The competent authorities shall incorporate the Guidelines into their national legal and/or supervisory frameworks and ensure, through their supervision, that CASPs comply with the Guidelines.

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For the full set of MiCA regulatory texts, see our MiCA Brochure, which assembles all published texts for your convenience.