ERIR (Entity Responsible for the Registration and Recording)

The ERIR is the body that keeps the official record of who owns each security (shares, bonds, units) when that security is issued on a blockchain. It works like a traditional securities registry, but on distributed ledger technology: it records who holds what and gives that entry legal effect. Without a designated ERIR, you cannot issue tokenised securities with legal backing in Spain.

The ERIR (Entity Responsible for the Registration and Recording) is the figure created by Spain's Securities Markets and Investment Services Act (Ley 6/2023, LMVSI) to handle the registration and recording of transferable securities represented through distributed ledger technology (DLT), such as blockchain. It is the digital equivalent of the entity that keeps the book-entry records of traditional securities (Ley 6/2023 LMVSI, BOE-A-2023-7053).

It is designated in the issuance document of the securities. The ERIR is liable to anyone harmed by a failure to register, by inaccuracies or delays in the record and, in general, by any breach of its obligations.

For primary-market issuance, the ERIR must be an entity authorised to provide custody of financial instruments in Spain: a credit institution, an investment firm (sociedad de valores) or a broker-dealer (agencia de valores). Its activity is supervised by the CNMV. The first ERIR authorised in Spain was Ursus-3 Capital, on 22 November 2024.

The ERIR should not be confused with an identity or KYC service: its function is registral. Nor is it governed by MiCA, because transferable securities are financial instruments and fall under MiFID II and the LMVSI (MiCA Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, Art. 2(4)). The trading infrastructure for these securities may, in addition, operate under the DLT Pilot Regime (Regulation (EU) 2022/858).