Why EU’s Awaited MiCA Crypto Law Has Been Delayed by Up to 18 Months

The MiCA legislation, which is set to bind the crypto and digital assets industry in a solid framework for all members of the European Union (EU), will be tabled for final voting later this year. The reason behind this delay is that the 400-page document needs to be translated into 24 official languages. It could take up to 18 months for the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Banking Authority to draft technical standards for the MiCA law.

“MiCA is tabled to be voted by the plenary in April, and to my knowledge, the delay is technical, caused by translating issues,” a CryptoPotato report quoted people familiar with the matter as saying.

The Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework largely revolves around consumer protection and prevention of market manipulation and financial crimes in the crypto sector.

The MiCA bill is aimed at preventing insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of inside information, and market manipulation related to crypto-assets from happening.

In October last year, the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) approved the MiCA legislation.

In addition to the postponement in MiCA enforcement, the Transfer of funds Regulation (TFR) will also now be tabled before the EU parliament in April. The TFR rule will mandate all crypto players to religiously collect KYC details of both senders and receivers.

The MiCA rule is one of the most comprehensive set of crypto rules formulated so far that will be implemented across multiple nations.

Crypto transactions are largely anonymous and can process instant cross-border payments without the intervention of any broker or centralised body. Governments around the world are concerned that cryptocurrency usage could destabilise existing financial workings and give an easy out for criminals to launder money and participate in other illicit activities.

Following the EU, now members of the G20 nations under India’s presidency, are working on drafting crypto regulations that would work on an international level. Before the MiCA laws goes live somewhere around 2024-2025, member nations of the EU have begun releasing crypto tax laws and inviting crypto players to operate from within their territories.

PayPal, for instance, entered the EU by offering crypto-related services in Luxembourg starting December 2022.