ESMA February 24 notice brings leveraged crypto under EU CFD rules

On February 24, ESMA said all leveraged crypto instruments must meet EU rules on leverage caps, risk warnings, and investor protections, regardless of how they are labeled. The agency treats perpetual futures like CFDs, requiring position limits, auto-close, negative balance protection, and access controls. Kraken said its new tokenized-stock perpetuals will not launch for EU users.