EU Postpones Final Vote on MiCA Until April

The European Parliament’s final vote on the European Union’s (EU) landmark Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation has been delayed until April 2023 reportedly due to “technical issues.”

The European Parliament will have to wait until April to take its final vote on the EU’s landmark MiCA regulation, stalling the implementation process. The vote was set to take place in February but has been delayed due to “technical issues” most likely related to the translation of the almost 400-page documents into the 24 official languages of the EU according to The Block. The delay means that the process for the new rules to be enforced is stalled. MiCA is not the only regulation to be impacted as the Transfer of Funds Regulations (TFR) will also be postponed to the same date. The TFR, which is meant to be implemented in tandem with MiCA, is part of the EU’s efforts to improve its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) measures.

This is the second vote postponement. The initial vote in Parliament’s plenary session was expected to take place by the end of 2022 but was delayed to February due to issues with translation. The delay means that the European financial regulators need to wait longer before beginning to draft implementation rules. Regulators such as the European Securities and Market Authority and the Banking Authority have 12 to 18 months to draft the technical specifications of the landmark bill once it receives final approval.

Many countries, most notably France, are pushing for stricter crypto regulation ahead of MiCA given the market turmoil caused by the bankruptcy of various major industry heavyweights. French policymakers and central bankers are rather desperately calling for the implementation of mandatory crypto firm licensing in 2023. Most recently, the governor of the Bank of France called for stricter and more comprehensive licensing requirements for crypto companies in France given the chaos caused by the fall of FTX. He added that France should not wait for the upcoming MiCA regulation to enact obligatory licensing for local digital asset service providers.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.