At the beginning of June, the government of the European Union officially signed the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) legislation. It is now official law. The EU has a kind of official magazine in which it writes about legal developments in Europe, where the law is officially published.
MiCA law immortalized in EU magazine
The edition in question was published on June 9 and is a whopping 252 pages long, and it’s already the 66e edition. Like all other articles, edition 66 can be read in all EU languages, including Dutch.
The EU is talking about three topics, including banning raw materials and products related to deforestation. The two other topics are related to crypto.
To be precise, the government describes why it is important to properly monitor transactions in the crypto industry and to require users of blockchains to declare transactions to the government. Crypto could pose a threat to the reliability, stability and reputation of Europe’s financial industry, according to the union.
The possibilities that crypto can offer criminals are an important factor in this. That is why the EU mentions crypto in the same breath as counter-terrorism and anti-money laundering measures. It has passed a second law for that, which was passed at the same time as MiCA.
It also extensively discusses stablecoins, which it classifies under ‘asset-related tokens’. This will also include, for example, shares on blockchains. The EU always requires these tokens to cover the underlying value.
EU a lot of clearer than the United States
Funny thing is that the EU has official policy for the crypto industry with this. This does not apply to every country, for example, clear regulation is anything but present in the United States. Coinbase has even sued the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for this. According to Coinbase, the SEC would refuse to provide clarity.