Stefan Berger (EPP, DE), lead MEP for the MiCA regulation, said: “This puts the EU at the forefront of the token economy with 10 000 different crypto assets. To reduce the high carbon footprint of crypto-currencies, significant service providers will have to disclose their energy consumption. To counter money-laundering risks the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) should set up a public register for non-compliant crypto assets service providers that operate in the European Union without authorisation. In addition, the new legal framework will support market integrity and financial stability by regulating public offers of crypto-assets.įinally, the agreed text includes measures against market manipulation and to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and other criminal activities. Consumers would be better informed about the risks, costs and charges linked to their operations. Key provisions for those issuing and trading crypto-assets (including asset-reference tokens and e-money tokens) cover transparency, disclosure, authorisation and supervision of transactions. MiCA will cover crypto-assets that are not regulated by existing financial services legislation. The draft law agreed informally with the Council in June 2022 includes safeguards against market manipulation and financial crime. Plenary also gave its final green light with 517 votes in favour to 38 against and 18 abstentions, to new common rules on the supervision, consumer protection and environmental safeguards of crypto-assets, including crypto-currencies ( MiCA). Uniform EU market rules for crypto-assets The rules do not apply to person-to-person transfers conducted without a provider or among providers acting on their own behalf.
The law would also cover transactions above €1000 from so-called self-hosted wallets (a crypto-asset wallet address of a private user) when they interact with hosted wallets managed by crypto-assets service providers. Information on the source of the asset and its beneficiary will have to “travel” with the transaction and be stored on both sides of the transfer. The so-called “travel rule”, already used in traditional finance, will in future cover transfers of crypto assets. The text –which was provisionally agreed by Parliament and Council negotiators in June 2022- aims to ensure that crypto transfers, as is the case with any other financial operation, can always be traced and suspicious transactions blocked. On Thursday, MEPs approved with 529 votes in favour to 29 against and 14 abstentions, the first piece of EU legislation for tracing transfers of crypto-assets like bitcoins and electronic money tokens.
0 kommentar(er)
