Fidelio Tata, PhD⎢Embedded MiCA CPD & Competence Frameworks

Embedded CPD and Com­pe­tence Frame­works for MiCA-au­thorised CASPs and fi­nan­cial en­ti­ties pro­vid­ing cryp­to-as­set ser­vices under Artic­le 60 MiCA: Role-based staff train­ing, ma­na­ge­ment CPD and au­dit-ready do­cu­men­ta­tion re­flect­ing ESMA ex­pec­ta­tions

My CPD and com­pe­ten­ce pro­gram­mes sup­port both MiCA-au­thorised CASPs and fi­nan­cial en­ti­ties pro­viding cryp­to-asset ser­vi­ces under Artic­le 60 MiCA in build­ing, main­tain­ing and evi­den­cing role-based know­led­ge and com­pe­ten­ce ar­range­ments. Pro­gram­mes are avail­able as initial train­ing, an­nual CPD and ma­na­ge­ment over­sight for­mats, sup­port­ed by struc­tured re­gu­la­tory do­cu­menta­tion.

Sample programme structures

• 10-Hour MiCA CASP CPD Programme:
  Annual CPD pro­gram­me for staff pro­viding in­for­ma­tion on cryp­to-assets and cry­pto-asset ser­vices. View sample 10-hour CPD pro­gram­me.
• 20-Hour MiCA CASP CPD Programme:
  Annual CPD pro­gram­me for staff pro­vi­ding ad­vice on cryp­to-assets and cryp­to-asset ser­vices. View sample 20-hour CPD pro­gram­me.

The 10- and 20-hour fo­rmats re­flect ESMA examples; the appro­priate annual CPD volume should be cali­brated to the role, services and exist­ing knowledge and com­pe­tence.

• 40-Hour MiCA CASP Initial Training Pro­gram­me:
  Struc­tured initial train­ing for staff pro­viding in­for­ma­tion on cryp­to-assets and cryp­to-asset ser­vices, de­signed as part of the insti­tu­tion’s quali­fi­cation frame­work. View sample 40-hour initial training pro­gram­me.
• 3-Hour MiCA Management Programme:
  Ma­na­ge­ment CPD and over­sight brief­ing for senior ma­na­gers and ma­na­ge­ment body members over­seeing cryp­to-asset ser­vices. View sample 3-hour ma­na­ge­ment pro­gram­me.

For in­sti­tu­tions seek­ing to do­cu­ment a broader com­pe­tence and go­ver­nance ap­proach be­yond in­di­vi­dual train­ing pro­gram­mes, an Em­bed­ded MiCA CPD and Com­pe­tence Frame­work can be im­ple­ment­ed. The frame­work inte­grates role mapping, initial and con­tinuing train­ing, ma­na­ge­ment CPD, com­pe­tence assess­ments, super­vision, go­ver­nance do­cu­menta­tion and audit-ready evi­dence into a co­herent inter­nal com­pe­tence model. View sample Em­bed­ded CASP CPD and Com­pe­tence Frame­work pro­posal.

Rather than of­fer­ing stand-alone train­ing only, the pro­gram­mes are de­signed as em­bedded com­pe­tence frame­works: role-based learn­ing paths, ma­na­ge­ment CPD, CASP-spe­cific work­shops, do­cu­mented assess­ments and audit-ready evi­dence aligned with ESMA’s Know­ledge & Com­pe­tence Guide­lines and broader super­vi­sory ex­pec­ta­tions on gover­nance, sub­stance and effec­tive over­sight.

The pro­gram­mes sup­port MiCA-au­tho­rised CASPs and fi­nan­cial en­ti­ties pro­viding cryp­to-asset ser­vi­ces un­der Article 60 MiCA in do­cu­men­ting the qua­li­fi­ca­tion and on­going com­pe­tence de­velop­ment of re­le­vant staff and the in­volve­ment of senior ma­na­gers and con­trol func­tions. Each en­ga­ge­ment can include a do­cu­mented Re­gu­la­tory Com­pliance Pack with mapped CPD hours, par­ti­ci­pation records, assess­ment re­sults, role-based com­pe­tency out­comes and re­commended next steps for in­ter­nal gover­nance and super­vi­sory re­view.

The of­fering is de­signed for MiCA-au­thor­ised CASPs and fi­nan­cial en­ti­ties pro­vi­ding cryp­to-asset ser­vi­ces un­der Ar­ticle 60 MiCA and is par­ti­cu­larly re­le­vant for client-fa­cing staff, com­pliance, risk, legal, AML, IT, audit and out­sourcing ma­na­ge­ment functions, as well as senior ma­na­gers and ma­na­ge­ment body members re­sponsib­le for effec­tive over­sight of crypto-asset services. A de­di­cated ma­na­ge­ment CPD module can be used to evi­dence board-level and senior ex­ecu­tive under­standing of cryp­to-asset ser­vices, opera­tional risks, out­sourc­ing, go­ver­nance and super­visory ex­pec­ta­tions.

WHY AN EMBEDDED CPD MODEL MATTERS

Training can be outsourced.
Competence and effective oversight remain internal responsibilities.

MiCA’s authori­sa­tion, no­ti­fi­ca­tion and super­visory frame­work em­phasises or­ga­ni­sa­tional sub­stance, gover­nance, ef­fec­tive over­sight and suf­ficient in­ter­nal skills and ex­perience. Ex­ter­nal train­ing can sup­port these ob­jec­tives, but in­ter­nal com­pe­tence ca­pa­bi­lities and ef­fec­tive over­sight remain es­sential re­spon­si­bi­li­ties of the re­spec­tive in­sti­tu­tion. The em­bed­ded CPD model there­fore com­bines ex­ter­nal ex­per­tise with the active in­volve­ment of ma­na­ge­ment, com­pliance, risk, IT, AML and other key func­tions.

Further reading: My article “Nach der Zu­lassung ist vor der Auf­sicht: Warum Ma­na­ge­ment­kom­pe­tenz unter MiCAR in den Fokus rückt”, published by Frank­furt School of Finance & Ma­na­ge­ment, dis­cusses the im­pli­ca­tions of MiCA know­ledge and com­pe­tence re­quire­ments for ma­na­ge­ment and ef­fective over­sight. Link.

BACK­GROUND: ESMA KNOW­LEDGE & COM­PE­TENCE GUIDE­LINES

On 11 July 2025, the Euro­pean Se­cu­ri­ties and Markets Au­tho­rity (ESMA) pub­lished Guide­lines for the cri­te­ria on the assess­ment of knowledge and com­pe­tence under the Markets in Cryp­to‑Assets Re­gu­la­tion (MiCA). These Guide­lines set out mi­ni­mum ex­pec­ta­tions for quali­fi­ca­tions, pro­fessional ex­pe­rience and con­tinuous pro­fessional de­velop­ment (CPD) for staff pro­vi­ding in­for­ma­tion or ad­vice on cryp­to‑assets and cryp­to‑asset ser­vi­ces to clients. The official trans­la­tions into all EU languages were pub­lished on ESMA’s web­site on 28 January 2026, start­ing a two‑month period during which com­pe­tent autho­ri­ties had to notify ESMA whether they comply or in­tend to comply with the Guide­lines. The Federal Financial Super­visory Authority (Bafin) listed the ESMA guide­lines as applicable from 28 July 2026 and there­fore takes them into account in its super­visory prac­tice.

MINIMUM PRO­FESSIO­NAL QUALI­FI­CATION FOR CASP STAFF

ESMA sets out se­ve­ral pos­sib­le quali­fi­cation path­ways. For staff pro­vi­ding in­for­ma­tion on cryp­to-as­sets or cryp­to-as­set ser­vi­ces, one ex­ample is a pro­fes­sional quali­fi­cation of at least 80 hours com­bined with at least six months of re­le­vant super­vised ex­perience. Al­ter­na­tively, at least one year of re­le­vant super­vi­sed ex­perience may be suffi­cient. For staff pro­vi­ding ad­vice, ESMA identi­fies, among other path­ways, a pro­fessio­nal quali­fi­ca­tion of at least 160 hours com­bined with at least one year of re­le­vant super­vised ex­perience. Other quali­fi­cation and ex­perience path­ways are also availa­ble. The re­le­vant know­led­ge and com­pe­tence must be de­monstra­ted by passing an assess­ment.

CPD RE­QUIRE­MENTS TO MAIN­TAIN KNOW­LED­GE AND COM­PE­TENCE

ESMA ex­pects that CASPs deter­mine the ad­equate mi­ni­mum number of CPD hours per year that staff pro­viding in­for­ma­tion or ad­vice on cryp­to‑assets or cryp­to‑asset ser­vices should complete, taking into account the na­ture and com­plexi­ty of the assets and ser­vices con­cerned as well as staff’s existing knowledge and ex­perience. For staff providing information or advice on a limited range of the least complex crypto-assets or crypto-asset services, ESMA gives examples of 10 and 20 CPD hours per year, respectively, with CPD in­cluding veri­fi­ca­tion of the par­ti­ci­pants’ knowledge and compe­tence rather than mere attendance.

WHY CPD MUST BE TAILORED TO EACH PROVIDER

ESMA con­firms that staff pro­viding in­for­ma­tion must de­monstrate the necessary knowledge and com­pe­tence only for the cryp­to‑assets and cryp­to‑asset services actually offered by the CASP, not for all cryp­to‑assets that are techni­cally within the scope of the ser­vice. CPD must there­fore be adapted to each CASP’s spe­ci­fic business model. When de­signing CPD, CASPs should take into account existing staff knowledge and compe­tence, re­gu­la­tory changes, key market de­velop­ments and newly emerging techno­lo­gies.

WHY PROVIDERS SHOULD NOW OPERATIONALISE THEIR CPD FRAMEWORKS

The Guide­lines have applied since 28 July 2026. CASPs should there­fore identify staff and roles in scope, deter­mine ap­propriate an­nual CPD arrange­ments and inte­grate train­ing, know­ledge as­sess­ments and evi­dence into an on­going com­pe­tence frame­work. Im­ple­menta­tion should be ca­li­brated to the CASP’s business model, cryp­to-asset services and existing staff know­ledge and com­pe­tence.

HOW PROVIDERS SHOULD REVIEW STAFF CRYPTO-ASSET COM­PE­TENCE

ESMA re­quires CASPs to carry out at least annual in­ter­nal or ex­ter­nal re­views of their staff members’ de­velop­ment and ex­perience needs, to assess re­gu­la­tory develop­ments and to take the necessary action to comply with applicable re­quire­ments. These re­views should en­sure that staff hold appro­priate quali­fi­ca­tions and main­tain and up­date their knowledge and com­pe­tence through con­tinuous pro­fessional de­velop­ment or training, in line with the mi­ni­mum guidance set out in the Guide­lines, and should in­clude specific training before any new type of cryp­to‑asset or cryp­to‑asset service is offered.

MY OFFER: EMBEDDED MiCA CPD AND COM­PE­TENCE FRAME­WORKS

Based on my more than 30 years of pro­fessional ex­perience in financial markets, academia and ad­visory pro­jects, as well as tailored training pro­gram­mes de­livered in the MiCA/CASP con­text, I sup­port MiCA-autho­rised CASPs and fi­nancial en­ti­ties pro­viding cryp­to-asset services under Article 60 MiCA in im­ple­menting and do­cu­menting MiCA-aligned CPD and com­pe­tence frame­works, in­cluding:

• Con­ducting skills gap assess­ments to identi­fy training needs aligned with staff roles and MiCA com­pe­tence re­quire­ments
• Designing tailored training pro­gram­mes ca­li­bra­ted to each pro­vider’s busi­ness model, service scope and re­gu­la­tory status, as well as the nature and com­plexity of the cryp­to-assets and cryp­to-asset services con­cerned
• De­li­vering role‑based training mo­dules that build re­gu­la­tory know­ledge, prac­ti­cal skills, and super­visory aware­ness
• Fa­ci­li­ta­ting inter­active learning ex­periences through work­shops, case studies, and compe­te­ncy assess­ments
• Pro­vi­ding docu­mented evi­dence of CPD en­ga­ge­ment, in­cluding cer­ti­fi­cates, assess­ments, and par­ti­ci­pa­tion re­cords
• Main­taining a re­gu­la­tory audit trail and CPD do­cu­menta­tion via a com­pre­hen­sive Re­gu­la­tory Com­pliance Pack that supports super­vi­sory review and in­ter­nal com­pliance re­port­ing, in­clu­ding:
• Mapped CPD hours linked to ESMA MiCA know­ledge & com­pe­tence ex­pec­ta­tions
• Audit-ready evi­dence in PDF/Excel
• Role-based com­pe­tency out­comes
• Super­visory sub­mis­sion support ma­terials
• Pre­pa­ring post‑training com­pe­ten­cy re­ports sum­ma­riz­ing out­comes, com­pliance map­ping, and re­com­mended next steps
• Bi‑weekly CASP Know­led­ge & Com­pe­tence Mo­ni­tor (by in­vi­ta­tion only, typi­cal­ly bund­led with CASP CPD train­ing and ad­vi­sory man­da­tes)

Continuing Pro­fessional De­velop­ment (CPD) is essential for pro­vi­ders of cryp­to-asset services under MiCA, en­suring that staff main­tain up-to-date know­ledge of cryp­to-assets, cryp­to-asset ser­vices and re­gu­la­tory re­quire­ments. My embed­ded MiCA com­pe­tence pro­gram­mes sup­port CASPs and fi­nancial en­ti­ties pro­viding cryp­to-asset ser­vices under Article 60 MiCA in establish­ing, main­tain­ing and evi­denc­ing in­ter­nal know­ledge and com­pe­tence ar­range­ments.

The em­bed­ded MiCA com­pe­tence pro­gram­mes re­flect the ex­pec­ta­tions of ESMA and re­le­vant na­tional com­pe­tent autho­ri­ties re­garding know­ledge, com­pe­tence and con­tinuing pro­fessional de­velop­ment. They are de­signed to help the respec­tive in­sti­tu­tion establish and main­tain com­pe­tence and CPD arrange­ments aligned with MiCA and the ESMA Guide­lines.

Client reference: V-Bank AG