EU’s MiCA Crypto Law Debate Scheduled for April 18

A final vote on the bloc’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, which brings in a new licensing regime, is due April 19.

AccessTimeIconMar 20, 2023 at 10:40 a.m. UTC
Updated Mar 20, 2023 at 10:11 p.m. UTC
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The European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, known as MiCA, will be the topic of an April 18 discussion in the European Parliament, heralding final formal agreement of the landmark law that will bring a crypto licensing regime across the bloc, according to an agenda published on the Parliament’s website.

The law’s political outlines were made final last June, but there have been multiple delays in definitively agreeing on a legal text, which must be translated into the EU’s 24 official languages.

Under normal Parliament procedures the final vote on MiCA will take place the following day, April 19.

The MiCA debate will be followed by discussions on another law known as the transfer- of- funds regulation, which controversially requires crypto providers to verify customers’ identity and which was also provisionally agreed back to in June.

Members of the Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee voted 28-1 in favor of the MiCA legislation in October, and national diplomats have also endorsed the plan.

The legislation offers crypto companies such as wallets and exchanges a license for operating across the bloc in exchange for meeting governance and consumer-protection norms, and also introduces reserve requirements for stablecoins. If approved, it will be published in the EU’s official journal and will take effect one to three years later.

UPDATE (Mar. 20, 11:10 UTC): Adds additional details.

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Jack Schickler

Jack Schickler was a CoinDesk reporter focused on crypto regulations, based in Brussels, Belgium. He doesn’t own any crypto.


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