Today we have a rather unusual snafu in reporting an important European Union vote on the “MiCa” framework, a new set of legislation for crypto.
Embedded in the draft of the bill was a proof-of-work ban on crypto assets like Bitcoin that use a process many people are criticizing as energy-intensive.
So it’s understandable that the EU would look to prevent this type of runaway energy consumption in the crypto world.
Where it gets confusing is in the reporting abounding on the web today.
While most outlets show that the EU legislature voted in the MiCa, while shooting down the proof-of-work ban specifically, Brenden Rearick at Investorplace has a prominent headline saying that Mica itself was shot down.
“This morning, the crypto investing world has been awash with nerves,” Rearick writes. “The European Union has been putting together a sizable crypto bill — one which could see sweeping regulations of the digital money industry implemented across much of Western Europe. …. But fear not, investors, the EU crypto vote is in, and it looks like a win for digital assets… As it turns out, members of the governing body are not yet comfortable moving forward with crypto legislation centered around this proposal. The MiCA vote is in, and EU members voted against the bill. In total, 32 members voted against MiCA, while 24 voted in favor of it.”
However, in sourcing, Rearick links to a twitter page that simply says the EU voted against the proof-of-work ban.
Meanwhile, if you look at the predominate reporting elsewhere, that vote, the one that Rearick enumerates, refers to the vote on the proof-of-work ban specifically.
That’s not easy for the average reader to figure out – it takes some googling.
In the end, though, we can see that the EU has adopted a new framework for crypto regulation.
That may be important for the ongoing treatment of defi assets on that side of the Atlantic.
