The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has voted on the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) bill, which is the EU’s legislation aimed at regulating the digital assets industry.
A requirement was added to the bill in the very last minute to limit the use of cryptocurrencies that operate on the energy-intensive PoW consensus algorithm.
The requirement was based on the claim that Bitcoin mining is harmful to the environment. According to the new edition of MiCA, the blockchain of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies must comply with “environmental safety standards.”
However, according to Patrick Hansen, head of strategy at Unstoppable Finance, 32 politicians in the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee voted against the proposal, and only 24 voted in favor. He says this is “a great relief and political success for the EU cryptocurrency and bitcoin community.”
Some well-known names from the crypto industry had shown a negative attitude towards the MiCA. For example, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor has tweeted:
“The only legitimate method for creating digital property is the Proof-of-Work method. Non-energy-intensive cryptocurrencies based on Proof-of-Stake should be considered securities until proven otherwise. Banning digital property would be a trillion dollar mistake.”
