rec_26

(26) At the request of an operator of a DLT MTF, the competent authorities should be allowed to grant an exemption from the obligation of intermediation under Directive 2014/65/EU. At present, traditional multilateral trading facilities are allowed to admit as members or participants only investment firms, credit institutions and other persons who have a sufficient level of trading ability and competence and who maintain adequate organisational arrangements and resources. By contrast, many platforms for trading crypto-assets offer disintermediated access and provide direct access for retail investors. Accordingly, one potential regulatory obstacle to the development of multilateral trading facilities for DLT financial instruments could be the obligation of intermediation under Directive 2014/65/EU. At the request of an operator of a DLT MTF, the competent authority should therefore be allowed to grant a temporary exemption from that obligation of intermediation in order to provide direct access for retail investors and to enable them to deal on their own account, provided that adequate safeguards regarding investor protection are in place, that such retail investors fulfil certain conditions and that the operator complies with any possible additional investor protection measures that the competent authority requires. Retail investors that have direct access to a DLT MTF as members or participants under an exemption from the obligation of intermediation should not be considered to be investment firms within the meaning of Directive 2014/65/EU solely by virtue of being members of, or participants in, a DLT MTF.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-13 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.