EU Delays Vote On MiCA Crypto Bill Until February
European Parliament has postponed voting on the crypto framework to its spring session in February. If passed, the bill will establish a regulatory standard for crypto assets across Europe by 2024.
European lawmakers have decided to postpone voting on the landmark Markets In Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation until February. The bill that was supposed to be voted on during the European Parliament’s plenary session in December has been delayed citing length and complexity of the document.
The MiCA aims to establish a regulatory standard for crypto assets across Europe. According to terms of the bill, crypto token issuers will be required to submit a “white paper” containing information about their project to lawmakers before being approved for distribution. MiCA will place restrictions on the amount of non-euro denominated stablecoins that can be distributed in the EU. Issuers of the fiat-backed cryptocurrencies will also have to meet capital requirements in order to operate within the bloc. Mining companies will be asked to disclose information regarding their energy consumption since crypto mining is regarded as an energy-intensive operation with a larger carbon footprint. Crypto firms including exchanges, wallet and custody providers with more than 15 million users in Europe will be supervised at a EU level.
Last month, the Permanent Representatives Committee of the European Council approved the legal text for MiCA. The document was then sent to the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs for a first time reading and vote. The committee who voted in favor of the bill was awaiting approval by the parliament before a final plenary vote in June 2023. However, the document which was to be voted on by lawmakers during the parliament’s upcoming session in December has been postponed to February. According to the EU’s policy regarding legal acts, the MiCA written in English is to be made available in all 24 official languages of the bloc. Lawmakers have pointed out the length and complexity of the document as another reason for the delay.
Once approved by the parliament in its spring session, MiCA will be published in the EU’s Official Journal as law and go into effect across Europe following a grace period of 18 months for companies to start applying. In October the parliament also passed an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) bill that demanded crypto companies to turn-in payer and payee information to authorities if an investigation alleging money laundering or terrorist funding is conducted.