The EU seems ready to finally pass its regulatory framework on crypto with a vote expected on this Monday. However, there are concerns that, as the draft stands, it would effectively ban Bitcoin and Ethereum in the Union.
- The EU is set to vote on MiCA on Monday.
- However, provisions of the framework may effectively ban Bitcoin in the region.
- Mixed responses have greeted the news.
Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), appears to be getting her wish, as the official has recently called for the region’s cryptocurrency regulation to be ratified as soon as possible.
A previous draft of MiCA would have seen the ban of digital assets working with what it termed environmentally unsustainable consensus mechanisms. The section containing this provision was later repealed following industry protests.
The new draft favored by most lawmakers in the EU, which is likely to be voted on Monday, still contains a similar provision, albeit in softer language.
It states that crypto assets “shall be subject to minimum environmental sustainability standards with respect to their consensus mechanism used for validating transactions, before being issued, offered, or admitted to trading in the Union.”
While the draft notes that an asset with small-scale operations would be exempt from the energy provision, it remains unclear what the EU perceives to be small-scale.
To be continued…