European supervisors have published guidance clarifying how a digital-asset licence granted in one member state may be used to serve customers elsewhere in the bloc, following complaints that some firms were licensing in the smallest jurisdictions available.
The guidance emphasises substance. Firms must show that senior management, risk functions and technology operations sit in the state of authorisation, rather than a registered office and a handful of staff.
It also addresses marketing. Advertising directed at consumers in another member state will bring a firm within the scope of that state's conduct rules even where the licence remains valid.
Compliance officers at two mid-sized exchanges said the practical effect is a relocation of staff rather than of licences, with hiring already underway in the larger capitals.
National authorities retain discretion over enforcement, and lawyers expect divergent interpretations for at least the first supervisory cycle.
