The European Parliament has delayed a vote on the Markets in Crypto Assets Directive (MiCA) over energy concerns. EU Delays Vote on Crypto Regulations MiCA, a much-anticipated market regulatory act, aimed at regulating cryptocurrencies was initially slated for a vote on February 28, 2022. However, the chairman of the Economics Committee, Stefan Berger recently announced its cancellation on Twitter and has asked for more time to clarify the provisions. Die Abstimmung des EU-Parlaments zu #MiCA wird auf meine Forderung hin abgesetzt und nicht am 28. Februar stattfinden. Als Berichterstatter ist es für mich zentral, dass der MiCA-Bericht nicht als de-facto #Bitcoin-Verbot missinterpretiert wird @btcecho 1/4 — Stefan Berger (@DrStefanBerger) February 25, 2022 The move comes after a draft of the framework began circulating earlier this week which included a provision that implied lawmakers were planning to restrict the use of cryptocurrencies that rely on an energy-intensive proof-of-work. According to the provisions, crypto firms will no longer be able to provide services that require the use of proof-of-work-based cryptocurrencies starting in January 2025. “The current discussion about MiCA indicates that individual passages of the draft report can be misinterpreted and seen as a ban on proof-of-work. It would be fatal if the European Parliament were to send the wrong signal by voting under these circumstances,” Berger stated in his tweet. Concerns Over Proof-of-Work Mining Various lawmakers and regulators in the EU have been calling for a ban on proof-of-work mining as concerns over its intensive energy consumption become more visible. In November 2021, a Swedish financial watchdog and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency called for a ban on proof-of-work mining. Similarly, the European Securities and Markets Authority also called for a ban on proof-of-work mining in January 2022.
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