The European Union’s much-talked crypto regulation, Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), has been yet again postponed.
In a recent media interaction, an European Union Parliament spokesperson said that the voting now has been delayed to April, thus delaying the enforcement process. However, the spokesperson also said that the delay is mostly technical and most likely caused by issues translating the almost 400-page file into the 24 official languages of the bloc.
The parliamentary vote was scheduled to take place by the end of 2022 but was later postponed to February in November due to translation issues.
MiCA is one of the first initiatives of the EU to regulate the crypto sector and aims to tame the “wild west of crypto assets,” in the words of policymakers. Notably, MiCA lays out rules for licensing firms offering crypto services in the region and regulates stablecoin issuance.
With the current delay, the financial regulators in Europe would have to wait longer before they can start drafting rules for implementation. Sources reveal that the regulators like the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Banking Authority have 12 to 18 months to draft the technical standards for MiCA once it is officially approved.
However, MiCA is not the only regulation being delayed; the Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR) planned to be implemented with MiCA is also being delayed to the same voting session.
Reportedly, the TFR requires crypto transfers to include know-your-customer (KYC) information on both the recipient and receiver sides.
The delays in MiCA have forced some European nations to adopt a temporary regulation for the sector. Todayq News reported in November that Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) intends to adopt a temporary stepwise plan until MiCA is implemented. The Belgian regulator indicated that under its “stepwise plan,” cryptocurrencies would be classified as securities if an individual or company issued them,
Some European nations have been wishing for stricter crypto regulation ahead of MiCA. The turbulence in the crypto market in the past year has largely fueled the will for stricter regulation. For example- French policymakers and central bankers are rooting for the implementation of mandatory licensing of crypto firms this year.