A watered-down amendment limiting the use of proof-of-work cryptocurrencies has made it into the final draft of the MiCA framework
An amendment aimed at restricting the use of Proof of Work cryptocurrencies within the European Union has finally entered the final draft of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MICA) regulatory framework.
The European Parliamentary Committee will vote on the final version of the draft on 14 March.
As U.Today reports, another draft intended to ban bitcoin within the EU by 2025 was introduced in late February. The move attracted strong criticism within the community, which apparently forced EU lawmakers to backtrack from their plans to crack down on the energy-intensive proof-of-work consensus mechanism.
With regard to the Mica framework, Stephen Berger clarified that the bill should not have actually been a bitcoin ban. This stringent provision has been omitted from the Bill.
Patrick Hansen, head of development and strategy at DeFi startup Unstoppable Finance, writes that the terminology of the latest proof-of-work ban has been reduced, but the effect is “essentially the same”.industry speaks
The last minute fix has created a ruckus once again. David Marcus, Meta’s former blockchain lead, described the potential bitcoin ban as “a protectionist move”, arguing that it could prevent European businesses from maintaining relevance on the global stage. He predicted that the initiative would have “disastrous” consequences for Europe while at the same time creating “enormous” opportunities for the United States.
CoinShares chief strategy officer Meltem Demirors said this was a “political attack” on financial freedom, predicting that EU regulators would not stop by banning bitcoin and other proof-of-work cryptocurrencies.
Ledger CEO Pascal Gaulthier urged company executives to contact members of the European Parliament to reverse the decision.
Hansen expects this provision to be removed during the trilogy talks.