EU lawmakers renew move to ban Bitcoin in the new bill

Key Takeaways

• E.U. lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the final draft of the MiCA bill today.
• Banning Bitcoin would be a “trillion-dollar mistake,” says Michael Saylor.
• MiCA would complicate the use of NFTs and DeFi ―Lawmaker.

LAGOS (CoinChapter.com) — Another attempt by European Union lawmakers to prohibit the use of proof-of-work cryptocurrencies in Europe has been met with high condemnation from the cryptocurrency community.

The E.U. lawmakers, according to reports, have sneaked in the aspect aimed at banning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies within Europe by 2025 back into the final draft of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework.

The E.U. lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the drafted bill today. If passed, digital assets that use proof-of-work to validate transactions, including Bitcoin and Ether, could be banned in the E.U.

The aspect targeting PoW, removed after uproar from the crypto community, has been added back. Patrick Hansen, head of growth and strategy at DeFi startup Unstoppable Finance, disclosed this through his official Twitter handle.

1/8 Bad news for #bitcoin & #cryptocurrency in the EU 🚨

The POW-ban has basically made its way back into the draft of the European Parliament that will be voted on in the committee on Monday.

I just read the latest draft. A quick update 👇@balajis @_pgauthier @BrianBrooksUS

— Patrick Hansen (@paddi_hansen) March 12, 2022

Hansen revealed that although they had changed the wordings regarding the PoW, the effect remains “essentially the same.” Notably, the proposed bill will essentially phase out Bitcoin, Ether, and other PoW-based digital assets.

He said, “Existing cryptocurrencies shall set up and maintain a phased rollout plan to ensure compliance with such requirements. Since there is no way bitcoin can & will implement a rollout plan out of POW, it would affect BTC as well.”

E.U. Lawmakers Plan To Ban Bitcoin Is A Trillion Dollar Mistake ― Michael Saylor

Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy, has expressed displeasure with the E.U. lawmakers’ plans to ban Bitcoin. Through his official Twitter handle, the American entrepreneur described the proposed bill as “a trillion-dollar mistake.” He said:

“The only settled method to create digital property is via Proof-of-Work. Non-energy-based crypto approaches like Proof-of-Stake must be deemed to be securities until proven otherwise. Banning digital property would be a trillion-dollar mistake.”

Similarly, Ledger CEO Pascal Gaulthier also urged top company executives to contact the E.U. lawmakers to reverse the controversial aspect. He also noted that the bill would result in the E.U. losing its leadership and control of Web3 to other regions.

On Monday, the European Parliament will vote on MiCA, a regulatory proposal that could ban Proof of Work protocols such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and other blockchains from European soil. This would be extremely harmful.

👇

— Pascal Gauthier (@_pgauthier) March 11, 2022

David Marcus, Meta’s former blockchain lead, described the potential Bitcoin ban as “a protectionist move.” Marcus further noted that the proposed bill would have “catastrophic” consequences for the E.U. And will, in return, create an “enormous” opportunity for the United States.

More restrictions and short-sighted policies will almost inevitably produce the opposite outcome and make Europe fall even farther behind. Web3/crypto is going to redefine the internet as we know it. 🇪🇺 still has a chance to be a relevant player alongside 🇺🇸. 11/14

— David Marcus – dmarcus.eth (@davidmarcus) March 12, 2022

In his remarks, Kai Meinke argued that the proposed bill would lead to an overwhelming lack of transparency in the E.U. He further urged the E.U. lawmakers to reverse the bill saying it would push users to carry out transactions outside Europe.

“The proposal would counteract the striving of #Europe for more technological sovereignty. In general, the consequence would be that European crypto companies would not only have a significant competitive disadvantage because they are not allowed to offer important services,” Meinke said.

‘Proposed MiCA Bill Condemning The Development Of Companies’ 

Pierre Person, a Member of the National Assembly of France, has also condemned the final draft of the MiCA bill. Person via his official Twitter handles also noted that the bill will negatively affect the development of companies in Europe.

(1/9) MiCa regulation will be voted on next Monday. As it stands, it definitively condemns the future of crypto-assets in Europe. By banning Bitcoin and Ether, by complicating the use of NFT and DeFi, the European Parliament is mortgaging our monetary and financial sovereignty.

— Pierre PERSON (@Pierr_Person) March 11, 2022

According to him, the proposed bill would further boost the lack of transparency in Europe and take away European citizens financial sovereignty. He added that the bill would also complicate the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and DeFi.

He said, “Whether it is DeFi or NFT, these technologies are still in the early stage of development. It is the future use cases that we will have to regulate, not the technology.  Parliament is also transposing old-world financial regulation to a structurally different new technology.”

Person further urged the E.U. lawmakers to revise the proposed bill and not missed this opportunity by going against history.