For years, Europe has been working towards comprehensive digital asset legislation. And as of Wednesday, the full legal text of that legislation has been agreed upon by members of the European Union.
The text that was just agreed to was finalized in June after several key political deals were struck, and the voting members this week signed off on that text without amendment.
Some of the focuses for MiCA include a licensing setup for infrastructure companies like exchanges and wallets, as well as reserve requirements for stablecoins. Another related law was approved that forces wallet providers to do KYC on their users’ identities – much to the chagrin of some privacy advocates. The next step is for the text to be formally agreed to in the European Parliament before ultimately taking effect in 2024.
Much can (and will) be said and written about the rules. Are they a model for other parts of the world? Are they restrictive in a way that will see the industry abandon Europe? Whatever the case, the rules are here, and the next generation of European crypto will be shaped by them.
