MiCA Bill

The legal standing of Bitcoin mining in the European Union hinges on the results of today‘s vote in the European Parliamentary Committee on Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA). A controversial line concerning the “minimum environmental sustainability” of crypto mining has been reintroduced to the bill after previously being taken out. The new line would require blockchain operators to submit a rollout plan detailing how they will come into environmental sustainability compliance. Failure to submit a plan may prohibit coins from being mined or traded in the EU. Although it is not specifically stated, the bill would directly affect proof-of-work (PoW) chains. PoW is the consensus algorithm used by the Bitcoin network, Ethereum and several other crypto assets. Since Bitcoin (BTC) is decentralized...