ESMA to Focus Supervision on AI and Tokenization in Financial Services From 2027
ESMA will launch a new EU-wide supervisory priority in 2027. It will initially focus on the use of AI and tokenization in products and processes that directly affect clients.
ESMA supervision of AI will become part of a new EU-wide supervisory priority for financial markets from 2027. On September 23, 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announced a new Union Strategic Supervisory Priority titled “Innovation with investor safeguards.”
The initial focus will be on how supervised financial entities use artificial intelligence and tokenization in key activities. This is not an announcement of new standalone regulation for cryptocurrencies or tokenized assets. ESMA describes it as a supervisory priority and a tool for bringing national regulators’ practices closer together.
ESMA supervision of AI and tokenization will begin with market mapping
During 2027, ESMA and national competent authorities are expected to map current and planned deployments of AI and tokenization. Attention is to focus on products and processes with a direct impact on clients, not only on internal back-office tasks.
This means regulators will monitor the use of these technologies where they may affect the client experience or the outcome of a financial service provided. The priority covers the broader financial services market, not just the crypto-asset sector.
The plan also includes initial reviews of a selected group of firms that will be most affected by the technologies. ESMA has not yet disclosed which companies will be included in this group.
Data, governance and client outcomes
The reviews are expected to include verifying data quality and assessing the governance of the solutions used. ESMA also intends to focus on bias in AI outputs and the outcomes that systems deliver for clients.
In the case of tokenization, supervision will monitor its practical use in financial firms’ products and processes. However, the announcement does not set out separate new rules for tokenized assets or establish a new cryptocurrency regulatory regime.
For regulated EU firms, this means that the use of AI and tokenized products in client relationships will become a more visible topic in coordinated supervision. This concerns the broader financial services market, not only crypto-assets.
What ESMA has not yet specified
ESMA has not published a precise schedule for the individual steps to be taken by national authorities or the methodology they will follow. It has also not been confirmed what specific follow-up measures or sanctions could result from the reviews in 2027.
Other points to be monitored will include the sectors and use cases that ESMA and national regulators identify as the riskiest. It will also be important whether the initial mapping leads to common supervisory procedures, guidance or broader reviews, and what the results of the first reviews of the most affected firms will be during 2027.
Sources
- ESMA – announcement of the new supervisory priority – Confirms the announcement of the new priority from 2027 and its initial focus on AI and tokenization.
- ESMA – Union strategic supervisory priorities, factsheet – Lists specific planned steps for 2027, including mapping technology use and initial reviews of selected firms.
- CoinDesk – Independently summarizes ESMA’s announcement and its significance for the financial sector and tokenized products.
Verified and updated: 09/24/2026 15:27
