New framework aims to enhance transparency, curb abuse, and align with global regulations.
As institutional adoption grows and global regulation of digital assets gains momentum, the Crypto Market Integrity Coalition (CMIC) has taken a pioneering step to formalise best practices in crypto market making. On April 15, CMIC unveiled the first-ever industry-wide standard for responsible and transparent market making in the digital asset space.
A Landmark for Market Structure
Formed in 2022 by Solidus Labs, CMIC now includes 51 member organisations, ranging from exchanges and custodians to brokerages and infrastructure providers. The newly launched CMIC Industry Standard for Market Making in Digital Assets aims to fill a crucial gap by setting clear expectations around integrity in crypto market operations.
“Market making is the backbone of liquid, efficient markets — but crypto’s structure introduces novel risks,” said Chen Arad, Co-Founder of Solidus Labs. “This standard shows the industry can lead with responsibility even before regulation catches up.”
Conflict of Interest: A Key Focus
A major emphasis of the standard is on managing conflicts of interest, particularly in cases where firms act as both principal and agent. It calls for transparent disclosure and strong mitigation practices, especially concerning stakeholders like executives and employees.
The standard promotes robust market abuse prevention, urging firms to implement market surveillance systems and internal controls. It addresses traditional threats like spoofing and wash trading, as well as crypto-native manipulations such as oracle exploitation and social media sentiment schemes.
Aligning with Global Compliance
To ensure broader adoption, the standard supports jurisdiction-specific implementation aligned with international best practices. It prepares firms to not only comply with current regulations but also adapt to future developments in the global crypto regulatory landscape.
The standard is endorsed by major players such as Coinbase, Circle, Bitstamp, Gemini, Robinhood, BitMEX, and GSR. It marks CMIC’s latest move in a series of initiatives, including a Market Integrity Code of Conduct, a Consumer Bill of Rights, and the CMIC Academy.
As CMIC continues to develop further standards addressing staking, tokenisation, fraud, and more, this move solidifies its role as a leading voice for ethical innovation in crypto.
