The European Union (EU) has now passed extensive legislation to regulate the cryptocurrency industry.
The Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Regulation will create a unified set of rules for crypto across the EU and was passed unanimously on Tuesday.
Crypto companies must be licensed by national regulators and adhere to strict rules under the MiCA regulation. This framework will also establish oversight of crypto markets, empowering regulators to investigate and prosecute cases of market manipulation and fraud.
Elisabeth Svantesson, the Swedish finance minister and the chair of the meeting, says of the importance of the groundbreaking regulation,
“Recent events have confirmed the urgent need to enforce regulations that will better protect the Europeans who have invested in these assets and prevent the misuse of the crypto industry for money laundering and terrorist financing…
Today’s decision is bad news for those who have misused crypto-assets for their illicit activities, to evade EU sanctions or to fund terrorism and war. Without exposure, that will no longer be possible in Europe – it is an important step forward in the fight against money laundering.”
Commissioner Hester Peirce of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently praised the UK and the EU for their relatively open stance on crypto regulation compared to the US.
Peirce told The Financial Times earlier this week:
“[The UK’s] approach is one that can serve as a model for us, MiCA (Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation) can serve as a model for us. I think we are shooting ourselves in the foot by not having a regulatory regime in the US.”
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Featured image: Shutterstock/Mykola Holyutyak/Natalia Siiatovskaia