“They will be subject to minimum environmental sustainability standards and will establish and maintain a gradual implementation plan to ensure compliance,” are some of the requirements, according to the final draft of the law.
A European parliamentary committee will vote on Monday on a new regulatory framework for crypto assets, which could accelerate the approval of a measure that, according to industry executives, could practically ban key digital currencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, in Europe.
Crypto assets issued and/or traded in the EU “be subject to minimum environmental sustainability standards and establish and maintain a phased implementation plan to ensure compliance” of those requirements, according to the final draft of the law, called MiCa, which was seen by Bloomberg News. The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs will vote on the bill on Monday.
The reference to minimum sustainability, as well as the implementation requirements, appear to be last-minute changes introduced to curb or ban the use of digital currencies that work on a so-called “proof-of-work” consensus mechanism, for example Bitcoin and Ethereum.
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Proof-of-work is one of the main consensus mechanisms that govern the Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin miners contribute computing power to the network, which secures and processes the blockchain, and are rewarded in Bitcoin for their contribution.
An earlier draft made no mention of a proof-of-work protocol concept, EU MP and crypto expert Stefan Berger of the Christian Democratic Party of Germany said in a Tweet early last week.
Concerned that the tougher new bill would be a de facto ban on Bitcoin, some industry executives raised their concerns on Twitter on Saturday.
“We at Ledger will always stand for freedom and self-custody, particularly in our backyard. We ask everyone to contact your Member of the European Parliament and let them know that you oppose the ban on Bitcoin in Europe,” he said on his account. from Twitter CEO Pascal Gaulthier of Ledger, one of the world’s largest crypto wallet providers.
“Since there is no way #bitcoin can and will implement an implementation plan outside of POW, it would affect #BTC as well,” Patrick Hansen, chief strategist at crypto wallet firm Unstoppable Finance, said on Twitter.