Chapter 5 discusses the “whitepaper” or prospectus regime in Titles II–IV MiCA and compares it to the Prospectus Regulation. Following an introduction to the objectives, applicable legislation, and the risk-based differentiation of the prospectus rules, Section 5.3 covers the scope of MiCA’s prospectus rules. Section 5.4 explains the prospectus procedure, including the obligation to publish a prospectus, obliged entities, the approval and publication processes, along with expiration, updating, modification, and supplementing of the prospectus. Section 5.5 addresses the content and form of the prospectus, Section 5.6 the liability for information in the prospectus, and finally, Section 5.7 covers the EU-wide application of the prospectus (EU passport).

There are three ways of becoming a shareholder: by subscribing to a new issue of shares in a company; by purchasing shares from an existing shareholder; or by transmission of ownership in shares due to the operation of law (for example, where shares are transferred to the beneficiary under a will). Here we are concerned with the first of these alternatives. Companies issue shares as a means to fund projects commonly referred to as ‘raising capital’ or ‘equity raising’. The focus in this chapter is upon shares and securities as a means of fundraising,