Just-In: EU Council Approves MiCA For Bringing Clear Crypto Regulation

Crypto News: Following a voting process on May 16, members of the Council of the European Union have given the much-anticipated Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation their final approval, thereby giving it the green light to become a standardized law. A total of 27 Finance Ministers representing the EU’s member states voted in favor of enacting the MiCA bill as well as modifying a number of rules and directives that are related to the new law.

EU Adopts MiCA To Regulate Crypto

The MiCA, which has already been adopted by the member states of the EU and the European parliament, stipulates that cryptocurrency businesses must obtain authorization from the EU in order to serve consumers located within the bloc, and they must also comply with protections designed to prevent money laundering (AML) and the financing of extremist organizations.

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Along with the ratification of MiCA by the EU parliament, two further pieces of legislation, including rules on information accompanying transfers of funds and specific crypto-assets, were also approved at the same time.

The Council has just adopted the first-ever EU rules on markets in crypto-assets and services.

The new regulation aims to improve transparency, preserve financial stability and increase consumer protection while fostering innovation. #DigitalFinanceEU #MiCA

— EU Council (@EUCouncil) May 16, 2023

MiCA Sets Standards For Crypto

According to the official statement released by the Council, the new crypto law is set to introduce a “harmonized regulatory framework” in the European Union — which given the global nature of crypto assets — will be an improvement compared to the current situation with national legislation in some member states only.

While emphasizing on bringing transparency and compliance in the broader crypto market, the EU Council was quoted as saying:

The new rules cover issuers of utility tokens, asset referenced tokens and so-called ‘stablecoins’. It also covers service providers such as trading venues and the wallets where crypto-assets are held.

Additionally, the Council noted that the approval fills a void in existing EU law by making certain that the legal framework does not create roadblocks for the use of new digital financial instruments and that these innovations are within the purview of financial regulation and risk management protocols set forth within the EU.

As reported earlier on CoinGape, the formal adoption of the MiCA legislation by the European Parliament took place on April 20, which paved the way for the Council to offer its final approval. In the wake of this crypto news, the price of Bitcoin is currently exchanging hands at $27,096, which represents a decrease of 0.41% over the past one hour, compared to a drop of 1.04% recorded over the preceding 24 hours.

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