EU supports law on cryptocurrency regulation

The EU’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee has voted in favor of a new package of laws that will regulate the cryptocurrency industry (MiCA). 28 votes were cast in favor and only one against. The vote took place without further discussion of the document’s provisions. Experts emphasized that this indicates that the European Parliament will approve the law by the end of this year.

The EU also supported the law on the identification of participants in cryptocurrency transactions. The law will allow to effectively track and punish criminals who use the digital asset market for money laundering. However, the initiative had previously drawn criticism from members of the cryptocurrency community and major market players, who feared that the use of private cryptocurrency wallets would be subject to excessive control by the regulator and law enforcement.

It is worth noting that politicians reached a common decision on the MiCA rules after two years of active discussions and disputes. «The adoption of the draft law marks the end of a heated but necessary debate between EU lawmakers that lasted more than two years,» said a statement released by the Brussels-based European Crypto Initiative (EUCI).

«MiCA creates a completely new set of rules for crypto projects — those that will change the current position of cryptocurrency as an „outsider“ and make it a full participant in the EU financial services space,» said EUCI co-founder Marina Markezic. The adopted law will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union in early 2023. As for the MiCA rules, they will come into force in 2024.