MEPs voted for a bill aimed at regulating the cryptocurrency market.
On Monday night, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) passed a MiCA bill to regulate the cryptocurrency industry in the European Union. The bill will next be discussed at the EU Council and European Commission level. The final adoption of MiCA and practical implementation of its norms is expected by 2025.
The document involves the introduction of a common legal framework for the use of cryptocurrency assets in the EU, consumer protection standards, as well as safeguards against market manipulation and financial crime. Market regulation will be entrusted to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Banking Authority (EBA), responsible for issuing stablecoins and cryptocurrencies, respectively. The wording about banning cryptocurrencies that work on the Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm was indeed removed from the bill’s final text. However, the bill authors have yet to compile a separate list of cryptocurrencies, mining which contributes to significant climate change, and to work out the issues related to limiting such impact.
