Fintech 2026

CZECH REPUBLIC Law and Practice Contributed by: Stanislav Šimek, Vojtěch Mlynář and Jakub Dostál, BADOKH

Crypto-Assets Cryptocurrency exchanges cannot admit a token to trading where a white paper is required but has not been published, or where the token incorporates anonymisation functions. Exchanges must assess whether tokens comply with the platform’s admission rules, evaluate their potential connection to fraudulent activity and assess the reliability of the project. Decentralised Exchanges (DEXs) On spot DEXs, any token can typically be listed with - out requiring extra permission and becomes tradeable automatically, subject to sufficient liquidity. On perpet - ual DEXs, listing decisions are generally made by the founding team or a governance vote. Whether such platforms are truly decentralised, and therefore out - side MiCA’s scope, remains questionable in practice. 6.5 Order Handling Rules The rules for handling client orders are broadly similar for financial instruments and crypto-assets. Investment firms and cryptocurrency exchanges must execute client orders on the best possible terms, tak - ing into account in particular price, costs and speed of execution. Firms must establish and maintain a best execution policy and provide clients with appropriate information. Additional rules apply depending on the type of venue. Crypto-assets that are neither financial instruments nor within MiCA’s scope (such as non-fungible tokens) are not subject to specific order handling rules. 6.6 Rise of Peer-to-Peer Trading Platforms True peer-to-peer trading platforms are mostly embod - ied in decentralised exchanges (DEXs), where partici - pants can trade crypto-assets directly without any intermediary. In recent years this model has evolved further, with perpetual DEXs now enabling trading of real-world assets and synthetic instruments with high leverage through on-chain order books. Some traditional and fintech players have begun developing their own DEX infrastructure. At the insti - tutional level, the DLT Pilot Regime represents a sig - nificant attempt to bridge traditional finance and on- chain trading (see 6.1 Permissible Trading Platforms ).

DEXs that are truly decentralised and operate with - out any identifiable intermediary fall outside MiCA’s scope. However, it remains unclear how many plat - forms satisfy such condition. This exemption does not extend to the trading of security tokens, which remain subject to the MiFID II/CMUA framework. Beyond the question of the regulatory parameter, DEXs pose other significant challenges: • AML compliance is difficult to enforce as there is no central entity responsible for implementing KYC procedures or monitoring transactions; and • consumer protection is largely absent, which makes it easy for retail participants to incur signifi - cant financial harm. 6.7 Rules of Payment for Order Flow Investment firms are prohibited from accepting any benefit in connection with the routing of client orders. Such benefits remain permissible only where the firms contribute to improving the quality of the service. Crypto-asset service providers are prohibited from receiving any benefit for routing client orders under MiCA. These rules effectively eliminate business models built on order flow monetisation in the EU. This may also result in costs being transferred to clients through Market abuse of both financial instruments and cryp - to-assets is regulated, through the EU Market Abuse Regulation and MiCA respectively. Both frameworks prohibit the following conduct: • insider dealing – trading on the basis of precise, non-public information that would likely have a sig - nificant effect on the asset’s price if it were made public; • market manipulation – conduct that gives false or misleading signals as to the supply, demand or price of an asset, or that secures prices at an abnormal or artificial level; and increased commissions or fees. 6.8 Market Integrity Principles

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