European Parliament Delays Vote On MiCA

The EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation looks set to be delayed by several months, with plans for the European Parliament to vote on the law in December now abandoned, Coindesk reported on Friday (Nov. 4).

Having published what was meant to be the final text for the bill last month, the European Parliament was set to vote on the regulation during a plenary session in December, however, a spokesman for the European Parliament told Coindesk that the length and complexity of the text mean the vote is unlikely to take place until the new year.

Among the last-minute details that the EU has been hashing out is a proposed cap on the market share of non-euro-denominated stablecoins.

Related: The European Central Bank Quick Implementation Of MiCA

The draft document published in October contained a requirement (42d) that would limit non-euro-denominated stablecoin activity within the eurozone to 1 million transactions and 200 million euros ($198 million) per day.

Considering that the likes of USDT, USDC and BUSD account for the vast majority of stablecoin transactions today, the move was widely perceived as a way for the MiCA legislation to grant a greater role to euro-pegged stablecoins and protect the eurozone’s monetary sovereignty.

However, after concerns were raised that such a cap would be unnecessarily burdensome to the European crypto industry, rumors that the limit could be adjusted or scrapped altogether circulated.

Before the MiCA regulation is passed into law, lawmakers first need to agree on the finalized text via a vote in the European Parliament, and the European Council will also need to sign off on it.

Once both Parliament and the Council have agreed on the final version of the regulation, there will be a period of 12 to 18 months from the day it is published in the EU’s Official Journal before the law comes into effect.