Bitcoin And Ethereum

The European Union’s Economic Affairs Committee will vote on Monday on a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies, which could speed up measures banning such currencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, in Europe.

The last-minute draft of the law called MiCa made some additions, including that cryptocurrencies issued or traded in the European Union must meet minimum environmental sustainability standards.

A finalized version of a major bill in the EU, which ignited controversy over its targeting of the crypto industry’s proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, is expected to head to a vote on Monday.

The Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) draft legislation, introduced in 2020, seeks to tighten regulation around digital assets by establishing a licensing regime on the continent and streamlining a uniform set of rules for member states.

Those rules include transparency and disclosure requirements for the issuance of digital assets, the authorization and supervision of cryptoasset service providers, consumer protection rules and measures to prevent market abuse.

The bill, under paragraph 61 (9c), also previously sought to establish a framework prohibiting crypto services from utilizing PoW-based cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether. That section of the legislation, which has since been updated, was expected to take effect sometime in 2025.

Lawmakers and environmental activists have been pushing for regulation on crypto mining since at least November of last year, citing what they viewed as energy-intensive crypto activity stemming from PoW.

Following considerable public outcry and condemnation of the bill for potentially blunting financial innovation across the region, the rule was postponed indefinitely on Feb. 28.

“In view of the important debate about sustainability, my suggestion is to include crypto assets, like all other financial products, in the Taxonomie area,” tweeted Stefan Berger, member of the European Parliament from Germany, on Tuesday.