MiCa

MiCA Bill Backed By Senior EU Lawmakers Ahead Of Thursday Vote

Summary:

  • Several lawmakers from the European Union’s leading political groups voiced support for the Markets in Crypto Assets bill or MiCa.
  • MiCa will end the crypto industry’s “Wild West era” one legislator said ahead of a vote for the bill on Thursday.
  • The EU could become the first major area to publish and implement an encompassing digital asset policy if the vote passes the bill into law.

Several lawmakers from the European Union’s leading political groups voiced support for the Markets in Crypto Assets bill or MiCa ahead of a vote on Thursday that will decide whether the crypto regulation is passed into law or not.

EU legislators debated the licensing law during a session on Wednesday. The outcome suggested that Thursday’s vote could back the MiCa policy and push the bill toward widespread implementation across markets in the European Union.

The watershed legislation would lay the groundwork for licensing digital asset service providers interested in offering their services across the EU in a regulated manner. Also, stablecoin issuers like Circle and Tether would have to hold large reserves to cover excess token redemptions.

Legislators Hail MiCa Policy

Lawmakers from the European People’s Party, Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, and European Conservatives and Reformists – the bloc’s biggest political groups – hailed MiCa for supporting innovation while maintaining strict rules to prevent the sort of crashes that plagued 2022.

Spanish MEP Ernest Urtasun opined that the policy should “mark the end of the wild west era for the unregulated world of crypto assets”. The European Commission’s Mairead McGuinness echoed Urtasun’s comments and added that “stringent rules and supervision are very much needed” after implosions in the industry in recent months.

Mica would “restore the trust that was damaged by the FTX case,” German lawmaker Stefan Berger said. Berger further noted that the bill would solidify the EU “at the forefront of the token economy”, a sentiment shared by the EPP’s Lídia Pereira who said, “Europe can be proud of the step we’re taking today”.

Policy Vote And Implementation

Both the EU’s council and parliamentary negotiators must greenlight the bill before MiCa can pass into law. Thursday’s vote is expected to put an end to months of administrative delays born out of disagreements about the bill’s final text and its interpretation.

Should tomorrow’s vote pass the bill into law, the regulation will come into effect 12-18 months after lawmakers add MiCa to the EU’s Official journal.