European securities watchdog begins scrutiny of cryptocurrency transactions

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European securities watchdog begins scrutiny of cryptocurrency transactions

The European Union's securities watchdog has begun preparations for increased scrutiny of transactions of digital currency after the bloc agreed to new rules to regulate what it called the Wild West sector, a public tender document showed.

The European Securities and Markets Authority ESMA will monitor the bigger players while the firms will be licensed by national regulators in the 27 country bloc.

ESMA is asking for a public procurement request from suppliers of trading data on criptocurrencies, including spot trades and derivatives.

It excludes transactions from the distributed ledger technology that underpins cryptocurrencies likeBitcoin.

In a notice, ESMA said that coverage should include all major exchanges and cryptocurrencies, so that it provides a fair representation of the market landscape.

Regulators use transactions data to spot abuses in markets, find out who is on each side of a transaction, and look for risky build ups of positions that could undermine orderly markets.

The data will be available with daily frequency and include access to order books where you can see spreads and liquidity in exchanges and trading pairs in fiat and criptocurrencies.

The contract is worth 100,000 euros.