‘Bitcoin ban’ removed from EU legislation

What

The European Parliament has scrapped wording from its proposed legislation that would have banned cryptocurrencies relying on proof-of-work (PoW) consensus

Why

Lawmakers intended to ban PoW networks citing high energy usage as their main concern

What next

Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation will continue to seek oversight over the crypto space

The story

European lawmakers have drawn a red line through wording in legislation that would have banned cryptocurrency networks that rely on a proof-of-work consensus.

This was announced by Stefan Berger, the primary parliamentarian behind the bill known as the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation.

According to Berger, the wording was scrapped as, “individual passages of the draft report can be misinterpreted & understood as a PoW ban.”

The MiCA bill was introduced to the European Parliament by a coalition led by Berger and was set for a vote on 28 February, but it was delayed last week due to concerns held by members of parliament.

Over the coming months and years, MiCA could have the power to shape the way cryptocurrency unfolds across Europe as it will help create a regulatory framework. Originally proposed in September 2020, it would ask the European Central Bank to “establish uniform rules for crypto-asset service providers and issuers at EU level.”

One paragraph of the bill was especially alarming to crypto users and miners, and suggested that by 2025, no crypto assets could be created, sold, or traded within the EU if they used “environmentally unsustainable consensus mechanisms.”

Berger later confirmed the paragraph in question, 61(c), has been removed completely, and that a new voting date is yet to be decided.

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