암호자산 제도권 안착을 위한 제도 연구: EU의 MiCA를 중심으로 (A Study in the Regulatory Framework for the Crypto-Assets Referring to the EU MiCA)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국EU학회
· 수록지 정보 : EU학 연구 / 27권 / 2호 / 5 ~ 40페이지
· 저자명 : 민세진

초록

EU의 ‘암호자산 시장 규제(MiCA)’ 초안이 2020년 9월에 제출되어서 논의 중이다. 본고에서는 암호자산을 한국 제도권으로 안착시키는 방안을 모색하기 위해 주요 국제기관의 논의를 정리하고, 특히 주요국 중에서는 가장 먼저 현실적이고 포괄적인 규제안으로 추진되는 MiCA를 자세히 소개하여 이해 증진에 기여하고자 하였다. EU는 소비자와 투자자가 심각한 위험에 노출되는 점, 각 회원국이 규제를 만들면 기술 성장이 저해되고 규제 차익 추구 행위가 발생할 수 있다는 점, 일부 암호자산은 통화정책에 난제가 될 수 있다는 점 등에 근거하여 MiCA를 제안하였다. MiCA에는 암호자산과 암호자산 서비스을 분류하고 각 암호자산의 발행과 서비스 제공에 대해 위험에 비례한 규제 체제가 제시되어 있다.

영어초록

Crypto-assets phenomenon has been widely discussed in recent years. The types and the market volume of crypto-assets are dramatically increased, which in turn has drawn much attention by a wide range of entities, including many governments. The regulatory vacuum has raised various concerns around unregulated risks, for example in relation to consumer protection or financial stability. At the same time, some appropriate regulatory framework is called for because an unregulated environment is not helpful for healthy innovation. The European Union (EU) introduced the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in 2020 to provide a sound legal framework for crypto-asset markets to develop within the EU by defining the regulatory treatment of crypto-assets and crypto-asset services that are not covered by existing financial services legislation. The MiCA is of significant importance since it is the first material effort in the major economies. The current draft of MiCA is adopted by the European Parliament in March 2022, and is shifted to a “trilogue”, a formal round of negotiations beween the European Commission, Council and Parliament.
The general and related objectives of the MiCA are the followings: “The first objective is one of legal certainty. For crypto-asset markets to develop within the EU, there is a need for a sound legal framework, clearly defining the regulatory treatment of all crypto-assets that are not covered by existing financial services legislation. The second objective is to support innovation. To promote the development of crypto-assets and the wider use of distributed ledger technology (DLT), it is necessary to put in place a safe and proportionate framework to support innovation and fair competition. The third objective is to instil appropriate levels of consumer and investor protection and market integrity given that crypto-assets not covered by existing financial services legislation present many of the same risks as more familiar financial instruments. The fourth objective is to ensure financial stability. While some have a quite limited scope and use, others, such as the emerging category of stablecoins, have the potential to become widely accepted and potentially systemic. This proposal includes safeguards to address potential risks to financial stability and orderly monetary policy that could arise from stablecoins.” The MiCA draws a distinction among crypto-assets into three sub-categories: utility tokens, asset-reference tokens, and e-money tokens. Utility tokens are the type of crypto-assets which are intended to provide digital access to a good or service, available on DLT, and that is only accepted by the issuer of that token. Such tokens have non-financial purposes. Asset-referenced tokens pursue maintaining a stable value by referencing several currencies that are legal tender, one or several commodities, one or several crypto-assets, or a basket of such assets. By stabilising their value, those asset-referenced tokens often aim at being used by their holders as a means of payment to buy goods and services and as a store of value. E-money tokens are crypto-assets that are intended primarily as a means of payment aim at stabilising their value by referencing only one fiat currency. Such crypto-assets are electronic surrogates for coins and banknotes and are used for making payments.
The regulatory framework for the crypto-assets is currently under discussion in Korea. While the necessary legislation is made in March 2020 to incorporate anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) requirement recommended by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) of G20, and the tax bill to provide the legal ground to tax on the crypto-assets is amended, more comprehensive approach to protect consumers and investors is far from enough. This study is to contribute toward the discussion to make a sound legal framework for crypto-assets in Korea, by analyzing the important precedent, MiCA, and drawing the practical implications.

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