Thanks to the latest news from the European parliament, the Bitcoin crash is not happening in Europe thanks to avoiding the regulatory rules for cryptocurrencies. The heavily debated European Union (EU) regulation on MiCA moves forward without a provision banning PoW. There has been a wide-ranging debate on the proposed EU MiCA regulation, particularly on a text aimed at banning proof-of-work cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Now the law is moving forward but without these provisions.
Relief for Bitcoin crash in the EU
The proposed EU Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulatory package has decided not to enforce controversial provisions to restrict the use of proof-of-work cryptocurrencies due to energy consumption concerns.
Before the transition to trialogue between parliament, council, and commission, EU lawmakers sought to reach a consensus on better cryptographic regulation. The current MiCA proposal does not include provisions to ban cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin operating on a proof-of-work protocol. That is why Bitcoin regulations are out of the way.
Stefan Berger, the German legislator leading the regulation of MiCA, said on Twitter on Friday that his proposed mandate not to include a ban on POW was not called into question and that the EU had shown “innovative power.”
Berger added that the deadline for challenging the mandate ended at midnight from Thursday to Friday. The MiCA trialogue will begin next week.
Other topics discussed by parliament are non-interchangeable tokens (NFT) and decentralized finance (DeFi). Most of these topics would undergo the same regulations as Bitcoin if accepted. Whether they should be included in the MiCA package and which EU institutions should be responsible for overseeing the crypto-area.
Europe – Bitcoin mining house
On March 14, in a vote of 30-23, the European Parliament said no to including explicit language that is in favor of banning proof-of-work cryptocurrencies. Those who lost needed 1/10 of the vote among MPs to veto the accelerated MiCA process through trialogues to revive the proof-of-work ban.
According to Cambridge University data from August 2021, Europe accounts for approximately 12-14% of the total BTC hashing capacity. Ireland and Germany have the lion’s share of this total, so the global hashrate is unlikely to be affected.
Conclusion on Bitcoin regulations
That’s how it turned out, and cryptocurrency fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Bitcoin and other proof of work cryptocurrencies are safe in Europe.
