Europe’s securities watchdog has reaffirmed that crypto derivatives offering leveraged exposure to digital assets will be regulated under the same framework as traditional high-risk financial products. This reinforces the bloc’s long-standing “same risk, same rules” doctrine.

In a public statement, the European Securities and Markets Authority [ESMA] clarified that many crypto derivatives — particularly so-called perpetual contracts — already fall within the scope of existing Contract for Difference [CFD] product-intervention measures, regardless of how they are branded or marketed.

Substance over labels in crypto derivatives

ESMA’s message is that regulatory treatment depends on a product’s economic…