Bitcoin Mining Lives Another Day in EU

The Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) proposal was first introduced in 2020 to set clear regulations for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies within the EU. On March 14th, 2022 the ECON committee voted 32 against and 24 in favor for a proof-of-work (PoW) mining ban.

This latest development for the proposal has brought a big sigh of relief for many in the community. Patrick Hansen, Head of Strategy and Business Development for Unstoppable Finance, who is familiar with the situation posted a Twitter thread on the updates for the MiCA proposal.

Hansen states that the PoW ban would be unlikely to reappear in the newly settled draft. Hansen also suggests that Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining may be treated as a separate issue with new regulation in the near future. 

The MiCA draft will undergo revisions and other compromises between the EU Commission, Parliament, and Council. Once there is an agreed upon draft, it will then take several months to approve and enforce. Hansen mentions that companies like exchanges and other Bitcoin and cryptocurrency service providers will then have about six months to transition and comply with the new regulations. Regulations may take another year from now to enact if the process develops the way that Hansen has presented.

A possible scenario to further delay regulation would be for the 24 members in favor of the PoW ban to veto a fast-track procedure of MiCA through the EU Commission, Parliament, and Council. If executed, this would delay regulations for the EU by an additional couple of months.

Others are also seeing the results of the vote as a win. Stefan Berger from the ECON committee tweeted that this is the first step to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency regulations that will benefit the future of the EU and its citizens.