The EU enters into an agreement on MiCA legislation to regulate crypto markets – regulation of Bitcoin news

Representatives of key EU institutions (EU) and member states agreed on the regulation proposal Markets in Crypto Assets. Progress in the negotiations on the comprehensive legal framework for the Union’s cryptocurrency space comes after European officials earlier this week agreed to adopt a set of anti-money laundering rules for cryptocurrency transactions.

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have agreed to tame the crypto market “Wild West”.

Traders representing the major institutional bodies of the European Union agreed to implement the landmark Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation across the 27-strong bloc. It will introduce licensing for crypto companies and protection for their customers. The agreement follows a consensus on anti-money laundering provisions for cryptocurrencies.

Behind the agreement are the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council, the three participants in the EU’s complex legislative process. To become law, MiCA will now need the approval of the parliaments and governments of some states. The breakthrough in the trilogy was announced on social media by Stefan Berger, mayor of the package.

“Europe is the first continent to regulate cryptocurrencies,” Berger said in a tweet, pointing out that a controversial proposal to ban technologies such as energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) mining is not part of the latest draft. Quoted by Reuters, the German center-right legislator who led the negotiations stated:

Today we are putting order in the wild west of cryptocurrencies and setting clear rules for a harmonized market. The recent fall in the value of digital currencies shows us how risky and speculative they are, and that it is fundamental to trade.

The crypto markets fell this year, after last month’s collapse of terrausd (UST) stablecoin and serious problems with large crypto companies such as Celsius Network, 3AC and Voyager Digital. Bitcoin (BTC), the cryptocurrency with the largest market value, has lost 70% of its value since its record high in November. It trades for just over $ 19,000 per coin at the time of writing.

MiCA to improve customer protection in Europe’s crypto rooms

The important regulation confirms the EU’s role as a standard setter for digital issues, the EU said. MiCA will give crypto issuers and related service providers a “pass” to serve customers across the union, while committing them to meeting “strong requirements to protect consumers’ wallets and become accountable in the event of losing investors,” a statement stressed. .

Furthermore, stablecoin holders will be offered the security of a free claim at any time, a move that according to some in the industry, such as the Blockchain for Europe lobby group, could lead to a situation where “stablecoins basically have no way of being profitable. “

The agreement excludes non-fungible tokens (NFTs), “unless they fall into existing categories of cryptocurrencies.” The authorities in Brussels will now have 18 months to decide whether there is a need for separate regulations for them.

National regulators will be responsible for issuing licenses to crypto companies. At the same time, they will regularly have to inform the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) about the authorization of large operators.

The latter has been tasked with developing standards for crypto companies to reveal information about their environmental and climate footprints, a compromise scheme that makes it possible to scrap the idea of ​​banning the provision of services for PoW coins.

What effects do you expect MiCA to have on the crypto industry in the EU? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a technology expert from Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’ quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” In addition to crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.