In a recent statement, the European Parliament said its members would “soon vote on the adoption of the Regulation on Crypto-Asset Markets (MiCA)”. According to the parliamentary body’s think tank, the proposed regulations should provide “legal certainty for crypto-assets not covered by existing European legislation”. A crypto advisor, Paulius Vaitkevicius, said any regulation of crypto is likely to bring more capital and talent into the space.
“Harmonized rules” for crypto-assets at EU level
After months of discussions and negotiations that resulted in the preliminary agreement of June 30, the European Parliament (EP) is now preparing to “vote the adoption of the regulation on crypto-asset markets (MiCA)”. The vote should take place during the plenary session of the legislature. European leaders say the adoption of MiCA will lead to the creation of “harmonised rules for crypto-assets in [the] EU level.
According to a Nov. 29 briefing from the Parliament’s think tank, the harmonized crypto rules should provide “legal certainty for crypto-assets not covered by existing EU law.” In the briefing, the EP also argues that the rules will not only strengthen consumer and investor protection, but also “promote innovation and the use of crypto-assets.”
Through the MICA, the European authorities also hope to “regulate [the] the issuance and trading of crypto-assets as well as the management of the underlying assets.
While European leaders like the President of the European Central Bank Christine Largade are push for stricter regulation — MiCA II — Some critics of the proposed legislation argue that the regulations envisioned in their current form can stifle innovation.
Legal clarity attracts mature players
Commenting on the European Union’s drive to regulate cryptocurrencies, Paulius Vaitkevicius, founder and crypto advisor at law firm VILP Solutions, said the “wild west environment” is not helpful to all parts. He also told Bitcoin.com News that without guidelines or regulatory frameworks “and with a number of situations where industry players are collapsing, we could find ourselves in a situation where we are left with only one handful of investors in the industry”.
Therefore, to prevent this from happening, the crypto industry needs legal clarity, which, according to Vaitkevicius, “brings[s] more mature players in the industry, both on the side of projects and investors. Explaining why he favors industry regulation, Vaitkevicius said:
From my personal experience, these players have already been looking for regulations and clarity for some time and are waiting for the right moment to intervene properly. With regulation, we will see these firm steps and, as a result, additional capital and talent coming into the industry space.
Meanwhile, some crypto naysayers have said that if proper regulatory frameworks were already in place, Sam Bankman-Fried’s shenanigans would have been exposed much sooner. However, when asked about the validity of this argument, Vaitkevicius said the view that on paper FTX itself was “one of the most regulated players in the industry” undermines this theory. He added:
“Regulation is a good step forward, but [this] must be followed by other elements to be functional in real situations and achieve the objectives pursued.
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