Good news for bitcoin (BTC) and the world of cryptocurrencies! The European Parliament’s ECON committee voted this afternoon against a bill that may be the first step towards banning proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin was put. A majority of parliamentarians voted against, which means that a possible ban will not be introduced for the time being.
MiCA crypto legislation
The ballot was about the Markets In Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation. This legislation deals with digital assets in Europe. One of the goals of the MiCA was to regulate PoW cryptocurrencies. Initially, the bill specifically talked about a ban on PoW cryptos, but after strong criticism the text was passed into law. slightly modified.
However, experts argued that the result would have been the same for bitcoin and other PoW cryptos. Sustainability was an important aspect of the MiCA and of course sustainability and crypto mining do not go well together. It mining cryptocurrencies in many cases consumes an enormous amount of energy. It is often argued that proof-of-work mining is therefore nothing more than a waste of energy, especially since there is also an alternative in the form of proof-of-stake.
In the end, a majority voted against the bill. 24 MPs voted in favor and 32 against. Parliamentarians from the left and social-democratic quarters in particular voted in favor of the bill. Not entirely surprising, of course, since sustainability is a top priority for them.
BREAKING: The ECON committee of the EU Parliament just voted against the de-facto POW-ban: 32 against, 24 in favor.
Big relief & political success for the bitcoin & crypto community in the EU💪💪
Will share a breakdown of the vote and what’s next here in this thread. #Bitcoin
– Patrick Hansen (@paddi_hansen) March 14, 2022
Proof-of-work cryptocurrencies als bitcoin
While this is definitely a win for the crypto industry, that doesn’t mean the danger has passed once and for all. PoW cryptos will continue to be a thorn in the side for regulators and legislators around the world. There is a good chance that sooner or later a new bill will emerge that tries to kill PoW cryptos.
Until then, at least we don’t have to worry about the dreaded MiCA bill anymore. That chapter is finally closed and has given the European crypto community a nice victory.
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