Mairead Macguinness News

Asset managers selling funds into the European Union risk having client flows “meaningfully” disrupted as regulators in the bloc consider a major overhaul of ESG investing rules, according to analysts at Barclays Plc.

Are Europeans ready to introduce a digital version of the euro? After coins and banknotes, the European Commission is now proposing the digital euro, a virtual version of the currency issued by the European Central Bank that could be used free of charge alongside cash in the eurozone. 

In the document, the Commission said it is 'seeking the views of respondents on how the SFDR works in practice'.

Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union says that the digital euro should not be rushed until the next Commission's parliamentary election.

The European Union's financial services chief, Mairead McGuinness, believes there’s no reason to rush with the digital euro until after the next European elections in June 2024. In her opinion, the EU’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) project should be approached “quietly and slowly” by the next EU Commission, which will be appointed by the then-incoming parliament. 

The world's first comprehensive regulation for the crypto sector, MiCA requires firms in the sector to obtain a license in order to offer their services in the bloc and to meet money laundering and terrorist financing rules."Significant" service providers will also have to disclose their energy consumption in order to tackle the sector's carbon footprint.A separate vote of 529-29 waved through Transfer of Funds regulation, requiring crypto firms to identify their customers.MiCA will now be introduced in phases, beginning next July.EU financial services commissioner Mairead McGuinness called on other parts of the world to follow the EU's lead, adding: "We believe had FTX been captured under the EU's jurisdiction, many of its practices would not have been permissible under MiCA." Anna Carrier, legal consultant at Norton Rose Fulbright warns that firms will need to take swift action: "With a relatively short implementation timeframe and a need for technical secondary legislation to be developed before MiCA becomes applicable, the industry faces some busy months ahead."

Lawmakers in the European Parliament have approved the world's first comprehensive package of rules aimed at regulating the cryptocurrency industry.

The world's first comprehensive regulation for the crypto sector, MiCA requires firms in the sector to obtain a license in order to offer their services in the bloc and to meet money laundering and terrorist financing rules."Significant" service providers will also have to disclose their energy consumption in order to tackle the sector's carbon footprint.A separate vote of 529-29 waved through Transfer of Funds regulation, requiring crypto firms to identify their customers.MiCA will now be introduced in phases, beginning next July.EU financial services commissioner Mairead McGuinness called on other parts of the world to follow the EU's lead, adding: "We believe had FTX been captured under the EU's jurisdiction, many of its practices would not have been permissible under MiCA." Anna Carrier, legal consultant at Norton Rose Fulbright warns that firms will need to take swift action: "With a relatively short implementation timeframe and a need for technical secondary legislation to be developed before MiCA becomes applicable, the industry faces some busy months ahead."

The European Union will launch an 11th wave of sanctions on Russia and seek to crack down on efforts to evade economic penalties introduced in the wake of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a top EU official told CNBC Thursday.

As the World Economic Forum brings global leaders together to tackle global issues, a number of cryptocurrency and blockchain events will create a vibrant sideshow in the snowy ski destination in the Swiss Alps.

As the Plenary vote for the landmark Pan-European crypto legislation, Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), has been rescheduled from the end of 2022 to February 2023, Stefan Berger believes that to be a matter of technical necessity. 

Mairead McGuinness, the European Commission’s commissioner for financial services, warned about the dangers that digital assets could pose to financial stability and called for US politicians to draw up new rules to govern the crypto industry.

While the European Union moves swiftly through the legislative stages with the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, a groundbreaking framework for cryptocurrencies, its financial services chief implores its American counterparts to keep up to ensure that the upcoming regulations will be global, not local.

While the European Union proceeds with smoothly passing its landmark crypto framework, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), through the legislation phases, its financial services chief urges the American counterparts to keep in step to ensure the forthcoming regulations will be global, not local. 

Fintech needs to communicate better, according to a top European Commission (EC) financial official. People ask what the need for financial technology is, and the industry has answers, but “we need to talk about this outside ourselves,” Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union Mairead McGuinness said on Oct. 13. 

A central bank digital currency would co-exist and complement existing payment options, and not replace the euro, European Union Commissioner Mairead McGuinness said.

Mairead McGuinness, the commissioner for financial services, financial stability and capital markets union at the European Commission, is moving forward with discussion on regulating cryptocurrencies amid three major events in the space.

Retirement plans still largely remain at the periphery of both crypto adoption and the regulatory discussion. But last week, a major development emerged in this department. United States Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Tina Smith of Minnesota became concerned about Fidelity’s recent announcement of adding Bitcoin (BTC) to its clients’ 401(k) retirement investment menu. In a letter to the company’s CEO Abigail Johnson, the lawmakers expressed their uneasiness over a “conflict of interests” and the “significant risks of fraud, theft and loss,” requesting from Fidelity a detailed outline of risk mitigation actions. 

Mairead McGuinness, the commissioner for financial services, financial stability and capital markets union at the European Commission, is calling for global regulators to work together to address potential risks in the crypto market.

The European Commission has announced that a bill for a digital euro will be proposed in 2023.

The global cryptocurrency market capitalisation dipped 3.30 percent over the last 24 hours to $1.96 trillion while trading volumes were up 46.41  percent to $113.88 billion.