Representatives of regulatory institutions in Sweden finally managed to get the ban on Bitcoin mining included in the discussions on cryptocurrency regulation in the European Parliament. The proposal would have been added to the package of laws known as MiCA (Markets in Crypto Assets) that will regulate crypto assets in the 27 countries of the European Union.
A information released by Coindesk this Thursday, February 24, indicates that it had access to the draft of the Law and that, indeed, it contains a provision that prohibits the use of proof-of-work (PoW) algorithms, such as Bitcoin.
As CriptoNoticias reported, the proposal emerged in early November 2021. Its promoters are Erik Thedéen and Björn Risinger, directors of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, respectively.
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Officials published a report last year outlining their views on the environmental impact of mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using PoW as a consensus mechanism. The document includes a call to the authorities of Sweden and the rest of Europe to ban the activity, in favor of meeting the environmental goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Swedish regulators insisted on their approach at the beginning of this year 2022.
Similar to what is stated in the Swedish report, the provision included in the MiCA regulatory project would seek to prohibit service providers in the sector trade minted cryptocurrencies using PoW. The proposal would raise exceptions for small-scale operations, which do not affect the objectives of reducing energy consumption in the European Union. If approved, the ban would take effect in January 2025.
Final proposal will be known on Monday
Apparently, the proposal gained traction among parliamentarians from Germany, Spain and Norway. A week ago CriptoNoticias reported that the Central Bank of Hungary also expressed its support for the ban on Bitcoin mining. Its president, György Matolcsy, further expressed his agreement with the narrative that cryptocurrencies facilitate illegal activities.
German parliamentarian Stefan Berger, said to the local media approval of the proposal would be “very likely”. Berger, who chairs the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament, is one of the deputies who has expressed himself in favor of the ban on Bitcoin mining.
As it was known, the Parliament will have to take a final decision on the draft MiCA regulatory package next Monday, February 28. After the vote, there will be a tripartite dialogue between the EU Commission, Parliament and the Council of member states, at the end of which the Commission will proceed to evaluate the parliamentary proposal.
