Article 8 — Specific permission to operate DLT MTF

1.A legal person who is authorised as an investment firm, or authorised to operate a regulated market, under Directive 2014/65/EU may apply for a specific permission to operate a DLT MTF under this Regulation.

2.Where a legal person applies for authorisation as an investment firm or for authorisation to operate a regulated market under Directive 2014/65/EU and, simultaneously, applies for a specific permission under this Article, for the sole purpose of operating a DLT MTF, the competent authority shall not assess whether the applicant fulfils the requirements of Directive 2014/65/EU in respect of which the applicant has requested an exemption in accordance with Article 4 of this Regulation.

3.Where, as referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, a legal person simultaneously applies for authorisation as an investment firm, or for authorisation to operate a regulated market, and for a specific permission, it shall submit in its application the information required under Article 7 of Directive 2014/65/EU, except for information that would be necessary to demonstrate compliance with the requirements in respect of which the applicant has requested an exemption in accordance with Article 4 of this Regulation.

4.An application for a specific permission to operate a DLT MTF under this Regulation shall contain the following information:

5.By 23 March 2023, ESMA shall develop guidelines to establish standard forms, formats and templates for the purposes of paragraph 4.

6.Within 30 working days of the date of receipt of an application for a specific permission to operate a DLT MTF, the competent authority shall assess whether the application is complete. If the application is not complete, the competent authority shall set a time limit by which the applicant is to provide the missing or any additional information. The competent authority shall inform the applicant when the competent authority considers the application to be complete.

As soon as the competent authority considers the application to be complete, it shall send a copy of that application to ESMA.

7.Where necessary to promote the consistency and proportionality of exemptions, or where necessary to ensure investor protection, market integrity and financial stability, ESMA shall provide the competent authority with a non-binding opinion on the exemptions requested or on the adequacy of the type of distributed ledger technology used for the purposes of this Regulation, within 30 calendar days of receiving the copy of that application.

Before issuing a non-binding opinion, ESMA shall consult the competent authorities of the other Member States and shall take the utmost account of their views when issuing its opinion.

Where ESMA issues a non-binding opinion, the competent authority shall give that opinion due consideration and shall provide ESMA with a statement regarding any significant deviations from that opinion if ESMA so requests. ESMA’s opinion and the competent authority’s statement shall not be made public.

8.By 24 March 2025, ESMA shall develop guidelines to promote the consistency and proportionality of:

9.Within 90 working days of the date of receipt of a complete application for a specific permission to operate a DLT MTF, the competent authority shall carry out an assessment of the application and decide whether to grant the specific permission. Where an applicant applies simultaneously for authorisation under Directive 2014/65/EU and for a specific permission under this Regulation, the assessment period may be extended for a further period up to that specified in Article 7(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU.

10.Without prejudice to Articles 7 and 44 of Directive 2014/65/EU, the competent authority shall refuse to grant a specific permission to operate a DLT MTF if there are grounds for believing that:

11.A specific permission shall be valid throughout the Union for a period of up to six years from the date of issuance. The specific permission shall specify the exemptions that are granted in accordance with Article 4, any compensatory measures and any lower thresholds set by the competent authority in accordance with Article 3(6).

The competent authority shall inform ESMA of the grant, refusal or withdrawal of a specific permission under this Article without delay, including any information specified under the first subparagraph of this paragraph.

ESMA shall publish on its website:

12.Without prejudice to Articles 8 and 44 of Directive 2014/65/EU, the competent authority shall withdraw a specific permission or any related exemptions where:

13.Where an operator of a DLT MTF intends to introduce a material change to the functioning of the distributed ledger technology used, or to the services or activities of that operator, and that material change requires a new specific permission, a new exemption, or the modification of one or more of the operator’s existing exemptions or of any conditions attached to an exemption, the operator of the DLT MTF shall request a new specific permission, exemption or modification.

Where an operator of a DLT MTF requests a new specific permission, exemption or modification, the procedure set out in Article 4 shall apply. That request shall be processed by the competent authority in accordance with this Article.