- The EU Parliament is voting on whether to regulate proof-of-work cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin, Ethereum (for now), Litecoin, and Monero could all be banned in the bloc if both votes pass
- Because of Brexit, the UK is not impacted by the vote, which will dismay the FCA
News that the EU Parliament is after all going to vote today on whether to regulate the proof-of-work consensus mechanism has taken a while to register in the crypto space, but as the vote looms closer it is starting to hit home. Should the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations pass its first and second rounds of voting, the likes of Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Monero could find themselves banned from being used or traded in the EU. This would scupper trading of these assets in 27 nations, an eventuality that a few short years ago would have typically been welcomed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK’s financial governing body. However, another divisive vote, Brexit, has incredibly ridden to the rescue of British crypto supporters.
MiCA Crypto Regulations Need to Pass Two Votes
The EU Parliament’s MiCA vote was supposed to have been shelved ahead of a meeting today, but advocates managed to get it slipped back into the agenda without prior debate on Friday. This means that a preliminary vote will take place today at 12:45 CET, with a second round involving more members due at a later date.
Should both votes pass, the EU Parliament will be responsible for drawing up regulations over the proof-of-work consensus mechanism on an environmental basis, with only those coins that pass the test allowed to continue trading and being used within the EU.
Under normal circumstances, the FCA would have been chomping at the bit to get a bit of this action, desperate as it is to curb cryptocurrency use in the UK. However, with the UK having formally left the EU in January 2020, any resolutions passed by the EU Parliament will have no impact on UK companies and individuals, leaving them free to spend, trade, and mine Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Monero to their heart’s content.
FCA Left on the Sidelines
The irony over a partial EU-wide crypto ban just two years after the UK voted to leave the bloc is impossible to ignore, with pro-Brexit environmentalists likely most unhappy at the event, should it come to pass. On the other hand, crypto holders who didn’t vote for Brexit might feel that, finally, some good has come from the acrimonious split.
But spare a thought for the poor FCA, huh?
Aah. Bless.
