European Commission eyes SEC-style single supervisor over crypto, stock exchanges: FT

The European Commission is planning to introduce a proposal in December to centralize regulation of stock exchanges, crypto exchanges, and clearing houses under one entity, modeled after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to a recent FT report. 

The move towards a "capital markets union" is intended to make it easier for small finance startups to scale across borders, without having to gain approval from a litany of regional and national regulators. The commission is planning to introduce proposals in December, the report states. 

One idea is to expand the powers of the existing European Securities and Markets Authority to cover significant cross-border financial entities, such as stock exchanges, crypto firms, and other post-trading infrastructure, though this idea is "contentious," according to the report. ECB President Christine Lagarde supports the move, along with her predecessor Mario Draghi. Lagarde also backed Germany's call for a single European stock exchange, Reuters recently reported. 

The commission told the FT it was "still exploring the potential of EU level supervision in relation to some critical infrastructures, such as central counterparties, central securities depositories and trading venues, as well as in relation to big cross-border entities such as asset managers." 

Luxembourg and Dublin reportedly "balked" at the prospect of a single supervisor, expressing skepticism that the EU will act in the best interests of smaller nations with finance hubs. 

The European Commission and European Union finance ministers have made several moves towards centralizing oversight of key areas of crypto, from stablecoins to exchanges, in recent months. Lagarde and EU finance ministers recently agreed on a roadmap for issuing a digital euro Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and the Commission is also planning proposals for December that deal with real-world asset tokenization, The Block previously reported. 

If the Commission presents the package in December, it would begin the ordinary legislative process with the European Parliament and Council, including amendments and trilogue negotiations that could extend into 2026.