MiCA Amendments Proposed Last Minute Revive Threat of EU Ban on Bitcoin – Changes to the EU’s MiCA proposal to regulate crypto markets, announced just days before the package’s vote, signal that a bitcoin ban is still a possibility. Despite the removal of language that would have barred coins with energy-intensive mining, some European Parliament members are now targeting “unsustainable” cryptocurrencies.
A section of Europe’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) draft legislation prohibiting the provision of services for cryptocurrencies based on the proof-of-work (PoW) mining mechanism was recently removed. The contentious provision had elicited harsh responses from the crypto community and industry.
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Attempts to essentially outlaw cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin in the EU, on the other hand, have continued. Amendments to MiCA which was submitted on Friday, days before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) votes on the package, are aimed at limiting “unsustainable” cryptos.
PoW mining isn’t mentioned this time, but the end consequence is likely to be the same, according to BTC Echo, a German crypto news outlet. “Before being issued, offered, or permitted to trading in the Union, crypto assets shall be subject to minimal environmental sustainability requirements with respect to their consensus method used for validating transactions,” the new regulation adds.
According to the authors of the legislation, such cryptocurrency must meet sustainability requirements. Bitcoin-related services will be de facto excluded from the scope of regulated activities if ECON backs the plan on Monday, when the committee is set to vote on MiCA.
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MiCA Amendments Proposed Last Minute Revive Threat of EU Ban on Bitcoin – According to the analysis, the implications of a positive vote would be devastating. A total prohibition on cryptocurrencies based on the proof-of-work idea would affect the digital asset market in the EU, weakening consumer protections, encouraging law-breaking, and ultimately forcing many enterprises in the field to leave the EU.
Officials and regulators from a number of EU member states, notably Germany, have advocated for a European ban on power-hungry PoW mining in recent months, citing environmental concerns. Sweden pushed on it, claiming that growing the use of renewable energy to mint bitcoin is jeopardizing other industries’ climate neutrality aspirations. Norway, a non-EU country, has expressed interest in supporting its stance.
