A proposed move to limit the use of proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in the European Union (EU) has been voted against by a committee of the European Parliament on Monday.
In an update shared on Twitter by Patrick Hansen, head of growth and strategy at DeFi project Unstoppable, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted 32-24 against passing the proposal.
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
The majority of MPs who voted against the proposal represent the European People’s Party (EPP), the European Conservatives and Reformists (ERC), Renew Europe (Renew), and Identity and Democracy (ID).
On the other hand, The Greens, Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the Left in the European Parliament (GUE/NGL) supported the unfriendly proposal, and now have fewer chances of effecting a reversal of the decision.
Proposed Ban Against PoW in the EU Replaced
As Coinfomania earlier reported, the EU Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) was due to vote on Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), a set of rules designed to regulate the EU cryptocurrency ecosystem.
However, certain legislators included a controversial section that seeks to limit the use of PoW cryptocurrencies on the grounds that they’re ‘environmentally unsustainable.’ Passing the proposal could have had dire consequences for the EU crypto scene, especially for Bitcoin mining companies.
Fortunately for the crypto space, the recent vote against the proposal means that it will not go through. Instead, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) supported the adoption of an alternative amendment by Stefan Berger, a politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
The alternative amendment suggests the EU adds cryptocurrency mining activities that “contribute substantially to climate change mitigation and adaptation to the region’s taxonomy for sustainable activities.”
An official legislative proposal to that effect is due to be submitted by January 1,2025, a timeline that now excludes cryptocurrency mining activities from the upcoming MiCA regulation.
Patrick Hansen (Twitter)
Meanwhile, the MiCA draft will now undergo a final debate between the EU’s primary law-making bodies, namely the Commission, Parliament and Council. Once passed, the rules will become binding on local companies, making it the first broad crypto regulatory framework in the region.
