2.10.1. Pre-trade disclosure

(1) A Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator must disclose to its Members and Clients the following information relating to trading of Digital Assets on its facility:
(a) the current bid and offer prices, and volume of Digital Assets traded on its systems on a continuous basis during normal trading hours;
(b) the depth of trading interest shown at the prices and volumes advertised through its systems for the Digital Assets;
(c)  the methods of communication to be used between the Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator and its Members and Clients;

(d) the languages in which the Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator and its Members and Clients may communicate;

(e) a statement that the Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator has the appropriate Licence to operate, and the details of that Licence;

(f) a description, which may be in summary form, of any conflicts of interest which may arise in relation to potential transaction, and how the Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator will manage these to ensure the fair treatment of Members and Clients;

(g) any cancellation or withdrawal rights that Members and Clients may have;

(h) any rights of Members and Clients may or may not have to terminate a trade early or unilaterally under the terms of the Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator’s facilities, including whether any fees or costs may be imposed in connection with exercising such a right;

(i) any specific technological requirements that the Members and Clients must have in place in order to use the Digital Asset Trading Facility; and
(j) any other information relating to Digital Assets which would materially promote transparency for Members and Clients relating to trading.

(2) The AFSA may waive or modify the disclosure requirement in DAA 2.10.1 (a) and (b) in relation to certain transactions where the order size is predetermined, exceeds a pre-set and published threshold level and details of the exemption are made available to the Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator’s Members and the public.

(3) In assessing whether an exemption from pre-trade disclosure is allowed in relation to in DAA 2.10.1 (a) and (b), the AFSA would regard to such factors as:

(a) the level of an order threshold compared with the normal market size for the Digital Asset;
(b) the impact such an exemption would have on price discovery, fragmentation, fairness and overall market quality;

(c) whether there is sufficient transparency relating to trades executed without pre-trade disclosure (as a result of orders executed on execution platforms without pre-trade transparency), whether or not they are entered in transparent markets;

(d) whether the Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator supports transparent orders by giving a priority to transparent orders over dark orders, for example, by executing such orders at the same price as transparent orders; and

(e) whether there is adequate disclosure of details relating to dark orders available to Members and other participants on the Digital Asset Trading Facility to enable them to understand the manner in which their orders are handled and executed on the Digital Asset Trading Facility.

(4) When making disclosure, a Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator must adopt a technical mechanism showing differentiations between transactions that have been recorded in the central order book and transactions that have been reported to the Digital Asset Trading Facility as off-order book transactions. Any transactions that have been cancelled pursuant to its rules must also be identifiable.

(5) A Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator must use appropriate mechanisms to enable pre-trade information to be made available to Members and Clients in an easy to access and uninterrupted manner at least during normal trading hours.

2.10.2. Post-Trade Disclosure

(1) A Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator must disclose the price, volume and time of the transactions effected in respect of Digital Assets to Members and Clients involved in the relevant transaction as close to real-time as is technically possible on a non-discretionary basis. The Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator must use adequate mechanisms to enable post-trade information to be made available to Members and Clients involved in the relevant transaction in an easy to access and uninterrupted manner at least during business hours.

(2) A Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator must provide price, volume, time and counterparty details to the AFSA within 24 hours of the close of each trading day via a secure electronic feed.

2.10.3. Public notice of suspended or terminated Membership

The Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator must promptly issue a public notice on its website in respect of any Member that has a Licence to carry out the Regulated Activities whose Membership is suspended or terminated.

2.10.4. Cooperation with office-holder

The Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator must cooperate, by the sharing of information and otherwise, with the AFSA, any relevant office-holder and any other authority or body having responsibility for any matter arising out of, or connected with, the default of a Member of the Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator.

2.10.5. Forums

If a Digital Asset trading Facility Operator provides a means of communication (a “forum”) for Members and Clients to discuss Digital Assets, it must:

(a) include a clear and prominent warning on the forum informing Members and Clients that the Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator does not conduct due diligence on information on the forum;

(b) restrict the posting of comments on the forum to Digital Asset Trading Facility Members and Clients;

(c) ensure that all Members and Clients of the forum have equal access to information posted on the forum;

(d) require a person posting a comment on the forum to disclose clearly if he is affiliated in any way with a Digital Asset or is being compensated, directly or indirectly, to promote a Digital Asset;

(e) take reasonable steps to monitor and prevent posts on the forum that are potentially misleading or fraudulent or may contravene the Market Abuse provisions (Chapter 5 of the MAR);

(f) immediately take steps to remove a post, or to require a post to be deleted or amended, if the Digital Asset Trading Facility Operator becomes aware that (d) or (e) have not been complied with; and

(g) not participate in discussions on the forum except to moderate posts or to take steps referred to in (f).