The European Union’s Regulation on Cryptocurrency Markets (MiCA) was submitted for debate in the European Parliament on April 18. On the website of the parliament published agenda, the landmark law projecting a crypto-licensing system across the union is being treated by decision-makers as a final official agreement.
The political drafts of the law were finalized in June, but the final adoption of the legal text was repeatedly delayed as it had to be translated into the 24 official languages of the EU.
According to standard parliamentary procedures, the final vote on MiCA will take place the following day, April 19.
The MiCA dispute follows discussions on another law known as the Money Transfer Regulation, which controversially requires cryptocurrency providers to verify the identity of customers, and which was also tentatively agreed upon in June.
Lawmakers on the parliament’s economic and monetary committee voted 28-1 in favor of the MiCA legislation in October, and national diplomats also supported the plan.
The legislation offers digital asset companies such as wallets and exchanges a license to operate on the blockchain in exchange for compliance with governance and consumer protection standards, and introduces a reserve requirement for stablecoins. If approved, the legislation will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and it will take effect in one to three years.
With this, rational crypto-companies will flee outside the EU, and from there, good luck to the head of water in Brussels to be at the forefront of the unstoppable cryptocurrency revolution.