Authorities in the EU are nearing agreement on a legislative package tailored to comprehensively regulate the crypto market and related activities in Europe. According to a media report, an agreement on the most important laws should be reached this month.
Agreement on EU crypto law expected by the end of June, sources say
Representatives of relevant institutions in the European Union are moving towards consensus on the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) proposal, which aims to introduce union-wide rules for the crypto industry, Bloomberg reported, citing knowledgeable sources.
Opting to remain anonymous, they revealed that the French Presidency of the EU Council and the European Parliament (EP) are now optimistic about solving the issues holding back the draft’s progress. Negotiators should do so at two forthcoming meetings, on June 14th and June 30th.
Member states of the 27-strong bloc and Parliament are yet to agree on several aspects of MiCA, according to sources familiar with the matter. These include oversight of crypto asset service providers (CASPs), the potential inclusion of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the framework, and regulation of stablecoins.
Officials are still debating how to limit the use of stablecoins in payments. For example, there is the idea of introducing an upper limit for transactions that are not denominated in euros. It comes after algorithmic stablecoin Terrausd (UST) collapsed last month, which impacted crypto markets. Ensuring investor protection and measuring the impact of cryptocurrencies on financial stability are two other important considerations.
Discussions on important aspects of crypto regulation continue
MiCA, first unveiled in 2020, was approved by the EP’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) in mid-March this year. The package entered the so-called trilogue phase of the European legislative process later this month, during which the final draft must be agreed between the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.
A key element in the negotiations is also the need to address the environmental impact of crypto assets, and some European lawmakers insist the new legislation should take this into account. Regulations banning energy-intensive proof-of-work mining sparked reactions from the Old Continent crypto community, who complained that they amounted to a bitcoin ban. The controversial lyrics were removed from the draft. France, which currently holds the EU Council Presidency, is ready to accept a Commission proposal to disclose the energy consumption of CASPs.
EU members and Union lawmakers are also at odds over including anti-money laundering provisions in crypto legislation. National governments are pushing for a separate set of rules, while European lawmakers are proposing to create a list of non-compliant CASPs.
Tags in this story agreement, crypto, crypto assets, cryptocurrency, deal, draft, eu, europe, european, european union, legislation, mica, package, proposal, regulation, regulations
Do you expect the EU to agree on the draft crypto asset markets by the end of June? Tell us in the comment section below.
Lubomir Tassev
photo credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, WikiCommons