EU approves regulation of the crypto industry

The European Parliament voted in favour of a bill to regulate the crypto industry MiCA.

Historic day for crypto in Europe!

Today @Europarl_EN gave its final green light to #MiCA. The EU is becoming one of the first jurisdictions in the world to introduce comprehensive rules on crypto-assets, protecting consumers, financial stability & innovation. #DigitalFinanceEU pic.twitter.com/cWF1Nv0Fr5

— EU Finance ?? (@EU_Finance) April 20, 2023

In January, lawmakers pushed back the final review of the rules to April.

The delay was caused by technical problems, including difficulties translating the nearly 400-page document into 24 official EU languages.

«With MiCA, market participants will no longer have to navigate 27 sets of different national rules, simplifying the authorisation process for crypto-asset service providers — or CASPs — operating in the EU single market,» noted Chainalysis experts.

[3/6] With MiCA, market participants will no longer have to navigate 27 sets of different national rules, simplifying the authorisation process for service providers — or CASPs — operating in the EU single market.

— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) April 20, 2023

However, oversight of crypto-service providers will be carried out by local supervisory authorities. Only industry companies with more than 15 million annual active users will come under the umbrella of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

The main provisions of the rules, including those relating to stablecoins, will take effect one year after adoption.

«There are now clear rules of the game for crypto exchanges operating in the EU. We are prepared to adjust our business over the next 12-18 months to bring compliance into full alignment,» commented Binance chief Changpeng Zhao.

The European Parliament voted for MiCA to be implemented.

This means one of the world’s largest markets is introducing tailored regulations for crypto to protect users and support innovation.

The fine details will matter, but overall we think this is a pragmatic solution to…

— CZ ? Binance (@cz_binance) April 20, 2023

Earlier in the run-up to the vote, EU lawmakers discussed the advantages and disadvantages MiCA. One of the document’s authors said that its approval would place the jurisdiction in the vanguard of the digital-asset economy and restore the trust that was eroded by the collapse of FTX.