EU Agrees on Landmark Crypto Authorization Law, MiCA

BRUSSELS, Belgium — European Union (EU) policymakers have struck a deal on landmark legislation to regulate crypto assets and service providers throughout the bloc’s 27 member nations.

The policymakers, who represent the world’s third-largest economy, have been haggling for nearly two years over the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework. As it stood on Thursday, the legislative package sets up requirements for crypto issuers to publish a kind of technical manifesto called a “white paper,” to register with the authorities and to keep proper bank-style reserves for stablecoins (cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of sovereign currencies like the euro).

Stefan Berger, the parliamentarian in charge of seeing MiCA through the EU’s complex legislative process, tweeted confirmation that policymakers had reached an agreement. The news was also hailed by the European Commission’s Mairead McGuiness, as she left the talks which dragged on for nearly seven hours.

“I think everybody’s now aware that you can’t have an unregulated sector,” McGuinness told CoinDesk, referring to turbulence seen in recent weeks in crypto markets.

“We’re glad that we’re leading on this,” she said, adding that “we do think there needs to be international cooperation because it’s important that we don’t regulate on our own.”

McGuinness has previously called for the U.S. to cooperate on crypto regulation, and there are recent signs that the Biden administration is considering its own stablecoin laws.

McGuinness also suggested this was not the end of the story, after the European Central Bank’s Christine Lagarde said further laws would be needed to deal with new areas like crypto lending.

“No legislation is ever set in stone, and no legislation in the area of crypto could be,” McGuinness said. “Those who are in this space are thinking of being innovative will now do it in a way that sits within our regulation rather than in the Wild West.”

MiCA was originally put forward by the European Commission in September 2020 in an attempt to address a slew of crypto fundraising projects called initial coin offerings (ICO) that often proved bogus. The law needed approval from EU governments and lawmakers to pass – which it now has.

MiCA has been broadly welcomed by the industry, on the basis that it can increase credibility, promote adoption by conventional banks and offer crypto companies a single license to operate across the bloc.

Read more: NFT, Private Wallet Fates Hang on EU Crypto Talks This Week

But many grew increasingly anxious over later attempts by lawmakers to extend the reach of the law to cover decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and limit the environmental impact of the proof-of-work consensus mechanism that underpins bitcoin.

In the last phase of talks, the focus was on whether NFT service providers – which include marketplaces such as OpenSea – should need to seek regulatory authorization to operate within the bloc.

The law also introduces tough requirements for stablecoin issuers. The stablecoin rules were initially proposed as a reaction to Libra, the cryptocurrency proposed by Facebook, which finance ministers worried would usurp governments’ role in controlling money. Though Libra (later renamed Diem) is now no more, the idea of strict regulations for stablecoin issuers has gained favor following the dramatic collapse of terraUSD last month.

The legislative deal comes as U.S. lawmakers consider rules of their own, particularly for the stablecoin market. It also follows hot on the heels of controversial anti-money laundering measures which the EU agreed to impose on crypto service providers Wednesday.

Read more: US Stablecoin Law Could Actually Pass This Year, Lawmakers Say

Once today’s political deal is formally endorsed and the text gazetted in the EU Official Journal, crypto companies will still have a transition period during which they can adapt the new rules.