EUCI co-founder: 'Regulated entities engaging with DeFi must ensure DORA compliance'

A 2024 survey by the EBA and ESMA found that while DORA provides a solid framework for enhancing resilience in financial entities, engaging with DeFi protocols may require additional focus due to their decentralized nature. Regulated entities like banks must comply with DORA's ICT risk management and resilience requirements when interacting with DeFi. Although EU financial institutions' DeFi engagement remains limited, compliance with DORA is still essential, especially for decentralized ICT services.

DORA is a European Union regulation aimed at enhancing the IT security of financial entities such as banks, insurance companies, and investment firms. It came into force on January 16, 2023, and will apply starting January 17, 2025. According to the United Nations (UN), DORA focuses on strengthening the financial sector’s ability to withstand operational disruptions by establishing harmonized rules for operational resilience across 20 types of financial entities and their ICT third-party service providers.

Markezic is known for her expertise in crypto regulation through her role at EUCI. She has worked with crypto projects since 2017, specializing in governance, DeFi, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Known for her expertise, she frequently speaks at blockchain events. Previously leading the advisory team at Cofound.it where she evaluated over 700 whitepapers.