Cryptocurrency law coming in: Prepare for a bumpy ride
euronews.comThe EU’s landmark regulation for crypto takes effect within the week – and it doesn’t seem that any major specialised players have succeeded in getting authorised.
The new regime offers players like exchanges and wallet providers the chance to apply for a license that will let them operate across the bloc.
Brussels has crowed about being the first global jurisdiction to set tailored rules for the cryptocurrency market – one that’s seen significant turbulence and manipulation.
But, with the clock ticking down, the jury’s still out on whether the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets law, MiCA, heralds a new era for the industry – or will kill it stone dead.
After agreeing the law in June 2023, France’s finance minister Bruno Le Maire said the landmark legislation will “prevent the misuse of crypto-assets, while being innovation-friendly to maintain the EU’s attractiveness”.
A few months later, lead lawmaker Stefan Berger (Germany/European People’s Party) said the rules “put the European Union at the forefront of the token economy worldwide”.
Many cryptocurrency users have long rejoiced in its freedom from government control – even if some recognise that regulatory recognition could offer extra credibility and certainty.
As the prospect of applying finance-style rules looms ever closer, the mood in the industry is getting more anxious.
“It's a difficult and uncomfortable period,” Faustine Fleuret, president of French crypto lobby group ADAN, told Euronews, citing norms that are both tough and unclear.
That gloom is shared by Marina Markezic, founder of the Brussels-based European Crypto Initiative, who points out that many crypto companies still haven’t told their customers exactly how the law will work.
On 3 June,
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