In an article published by the head of the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets (AFM) on Friday, the agency’s plan for enforcing the crypto regulation in the Netherlands is mentioned. As it looks, the country is not very excited about the European Union’s legislation for crypto assets.
According to the article published by Laura van Geest, Chairman of the AFM, the Netherlands will take a tough line enforcing EU’s Market in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation. The regulator also specifically says that it will continue its stance even if that means the businesses will go elsewhere.
The AFM head said that cryptocurrency wasn’t good news, linking it to fraud, manipulation, and speculation and the MiCA will only partly address its risks. Geest said that the history of cryptocurrency has forced regulators to be strict in enforcement and spare no leniency.
She added that the regulator would not be lenient when it comes to applying the MiCA rules. The MiCA will mandate wallet providers and exchanges to seek licenses which will let them operate across the EU bloc in around 18 months’ time.
The EU’s MiCA offers a single set of rules aimed at providing regulation, and promoting innovation, but with investor’s safety in mind. The regulation will be put into practice by national authorities such as the AFM, potentially meaning some crypto firms will simply look for the regulator that offers the easiest regime.
In the article, Van Geest said she’d have preferred to have more consistent supervision by EU-level agencies, but won’t be undercutting standards to attract business. She added “it is not for nothing that a MiCA 2 is already being presaged,” noting that the regulation doesn’t apply to problematic areas like crypto lending.
Countries across the globe have set their eyes on Europe as its MiCA could be a landmark for regulating the sector. Lawmakers at the European Parliament are set to formally vote on the law in April which was previously scheduled for February. Several countries like France have come ahead in support of the MiCA. In January, the French regulator informed that the participants in digital assets must apply for new registration in advance of the MiCA.