EU’s MiCA Bill Moves Forward Without Bitcoin Ban

The European Union’s (EU) proposed Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework is moving forward without including a controversial provision that seeks to restrict cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) that are based on a proof-of-work consensus mechanism. EU Says No to Bitcoin Ban Stefan Berger, the German lawmaker overseeing the MiCA regulation, tweeted on Friday that other EU leaders in favor of limiting the use of proof-of-work cryptocurrencies would make one last attempt to take the legislation to a full parliamentary vote ahead of the trilogue. The deadline for challenging the mandate ended at midnight on Thursday, Berger added, and ​​the MiCA trilogue will begin next week. #MiCA: Gute Nachricht! Mein Mandat wird NICHT gechallenged. Ich werde nun in die Trilog-Verhandlungen gehen mit der Position, dass es keinen #PoW-Ban geben wird. Das EU-Parlament gibt mir Rückenwind & zeigt Innovationskraft /1 — Stefan Berger (@DrStefanBerger) March 25, 2022 On March 14th, the European Parliament said no to include explicit language for banning proof-of-work cryptocurrencies in a 30-23 vote. Those who lost needed 1/10 of the votes among MPs to veto a fast-track procedure of MiCA through the trilogues for reviving the proof-of-work ban. Reportedly, Europe comprises around 12-14% of the total BTC mining hash power, according to data from August 2021 from Cambridge University. Ireland and Germany include the majority of the share ...