“Members have paved the way for future-oriented crypto regulation”, said MEP Stefan Berger, after learning the results of Parliament's vote on the MiCA law.
The proposed crypto law called Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), voted on Monday, will not include the proposed amendment to ban cryptocurrencies based on Proof of WorkPoW)as the Bitcoin. The majority of members of the European Parliament voted in favor of innovation and development and moved away from the aforementioned ban on PoW cryptocurrencies, which had been included in the final draft of the MiCA law as a measure to combat potential environmental risks. of crypto mining.
MEP Stefan Berger, presenter of the bill, said on Twitter that members of parliament had chosen to regulate cryptocurrencies with a future orientation. Without a doubt, a victory for bitcoiners and the crypto community.
In recent days, Berger had reported that the vote on the final draft of the MiCA law, which included a proposed amendment to ban Bitcoin and other proof-of-work cryptoassets and which was initially planned for Monday, February 28, had been suspended in order to seek a compromise that would provide an adequate legal framework for cryptocurrencies and not a de facto ban. However, at the last minute before the vote this Monday, March 14, other proposals had been added to the MiCA law that also aimed to limit proof-of-work cryptocurrencies in the region.
When the proposal to ban cryptocurrency mining in Europe was first announced, several leaders of the crypto community, such as Brian Brooks and Patrick Hansen, spoke out against it due to the consequences that its approval would bring. Hansen, head of strategy and business development at Unstoppable Finance, indicated that if this amendment was approved, European Union legislators would kill the crypto industry and, with it, innovation.
It is important to remember that in 2021, Chainalysis indicated that Europe had become the largest crypto economy globally.
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Sustainable finances of the European Union
According to Hansen's summary, although the crypto community achieved an important victory this Monday, the discussion on the ban or regulation of cryptocurrencies based on proof of work (PoW) is still far from over.
Hansen indicated that Following the rejection of proposed amendments to ban crypto mining, it was highly likely that PoW cryptocurrencies would be added to the European Union's sustainable finance taxonomy. He also noted that it was logical that environmental concerns about the energy consumption demanded by PoW blockchain networks would be addressed in a separate text from the MiCA law, which is focused solely on regulating financial instruments and financial service providers with cryptoassets.
MEP Berger also spoke about the proposal to integrate cryptocurrencies into the EU's sustainable finance taxonomy, noting that this was accepted. Last week, Berger suggested discussing the sustainability of cryptocurrencies based on the measures set out in the EU's sustainable finance taxonomy, which seek to channel the flow of money towards sustainable activities. As he explained, this area could provide clarity and ensure a better information base for users and consumers of cryptoassets.
After this vote in Parliament, the MiCA law will be discussed in the European tripartite, with the Parliament, the Commission and the Council of the EU before coming into force. After its final approval, cryptocurrency companies will have a transition period of 6 months to comply with the new regulations introduced in this law.
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