IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Niall Esler, Shane Martin, James O’Doherty and Laura Whitson, Walkers
Investment Services, Exchanges and Trading Platforms The provision of investment services, exchang - es and trading platforms in respect of MiFID II financial instruments is primarily regulated by the Central Bank under the MiFID Regula - tions, which provide for the regulation of market operators and investment firms operating vari - ous types of trading venues, such as regulated markets, multilateral trading facilities (MTFs) and organised trading facilities (OTFs). Crypto-Asset Exchanges The operation of a crypto-asset exchange from Ireland involving exchange services between crypto-assets and/or crypto-assets and fiat cur - rencies and/or the operation of a trading plat - form for crypto-assets will require authorisation as a CASP under MiCAR. 6.2 Regulation of Different Asset Classes MiCAR applies only to crypto-assets that are not covered by existing EU legislation. MiCAR categorises in-scope crypto-assets into ARTs, EMTs and other type of crypto-assets, including utility tokens. The provision of investment services (such as operating a trading venue) in relation to MiFID financial instruments (including those issued through DLT) is regulated under the MiFID Regu - lations. 6.3 Impact of the Emergence of Cryptocurrency Exchanges MiCAR regulates the provision of crypto-asset exchange services and the operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets. MiCAR will apply to persons and to the crypto-asset services and activities performed, provided or controlled, directly or indirectly, by them, including when
part of such activities or services is performed in a decentralised manner. Where crypto-asset services are provided in a fully decentralised manner without any interme - diary, they should not fall within the scope of the MiCAR authorisation requirement, although each model will need to be considered sepa - rately. 6.4 Listing Standards No formal listing standards exist for unregulated platforms. General contractual principles should apply, and certain general consumer protection rules may also apply. Trading venues established under MiFID or MiCAR are required to have detailed operating rules. 6.5 Order Handling Rules No formal order handling rules apply for unreg - ulated platforms; general contractual principles should apply. Detailed order handling rules apply to MiFID II investment firms of MiCAR CASPs when executing orders. 6.6 Rise of Peer-to-Peer Trading Platforms No information is available in this jurisdiction. 6.7 Rules of Payment for Order Flow The MiFID II inducements, conflicts of interest and best execution rules will apply to all MiFID II investment firms, including in the context of payment for order flow, which is the practice of brokers receiving payments from third parties for directing client order flow to them as execution venues. MiFIR prohibits financial intermediaries, when acting on behalf of retail clients or clients that have opted up to the professional client, from receiving a fee, commission or non-monetary
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