The European Parliament Delays Vote On Crypto Regulations
The legislative branch of European Union, the European Parliament has delayed a vote on crypto regulations, amid the on-going discussion about proof-of-work crypto mining.
The European Parliament announced a delay on its vote on the Markets in Crypto-assets Directive that was planned for February 28. The reason for postponing the vote is provision that might ban Proof-of-Work (PoW).
Bitcoin and Ethereum (for now) are examples of the use Proof-of-Work algorithm to mine new blocks.
Back in 2019, EU’s legislative arm proposed a regulatory package called Markets in Crypto-assets with the purpose of facilitating the “potential of digital finance in terms of innovation and competition while mitigating the risks.”
European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs’ which was scheduled to vote on the Markets in Crypto-assets proposal, has called off the vote because of concerns that the proposal could be “misinterpreted as a de facto Bitcoin ban.”
Dr. Stefan Berger, a member of the European Parliament Committee on Economic & Monetary Affairs, tweeted the delay on the vote, explaining:
“The vote of the EU Parliament on MiCA will be canceled at my request and will not take place on February 28th. As a reporter, it is crucial for me that the MiCA report is not misinterpreted as a de facto Bitcoin ban.”
Die Abstimmung des EU-Parlaments zu #MiCA wird auf meine Forderung hin abgesetzt und nicht am 28. Februar stattfinden. Als Berichterstatter ist es für mich zentral, dass der MiCA-Bericht nicht als de-facto #Bitcoin-Verbot missinterpretiert wird @btcecho 1/4
Berger went on to discuss passages in the draft of the bill that could be seen as a Proof-of-Work ban, saying that “the discussion about MiCA indicates that individual passages of the draft report can be misinterpreted & understood as a POW ban. It would be fatal if the EU Parliament were to send the wrong signal with a vote under these circumstances.”
He elaborated:
“In this context, I see the urgent need to resume talks and negotiations with the parliamentary groups on this topic and to create clear facts on the PoW question.
I will make another attempt with all stakeholders to reach a compromise that provides crypto assets with a proper legal framework but does not challenge PoW.”
In fact, this is not the first time Europe has wrestled with the environmental impact of proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining.
Last year, Erik Thedéen, Vice-Chair for European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) – a leading EU regulator, suggested for banning Proof-of-Work mining due to concerns over its energy consumption
Thedéen, who is also the director-general of Sweden’s Financial Services Authority and chair of sustainable finance for the International Organization for Securities Commissions, called cryptocurrency mining a “national issue” for Sweden, as miners started to relocate to there to source power more sustainably.
