The European Union’s planned Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation has made recent progress, and stablecoin issuer Circle is bullish about the nation’s expansion.
The formal draft of the bill was approved earlier this month by EU legislators. If implemented, it will impose harsher regulations on cryptocurrency businesses. However, an executive claimed that Circle will at least be aware of these guidelines while addressing on Tuesday at the Blockchain for EU Summit in Brussels.
In Europe, there is now a regulated avenue for stablecoins, according to Circle’s EU policy manager Patrick Hansen. “As we move from speculation to utility, the incentives grow to use euro stablecoins.”
EUROC has been maintaining its market value of $76 million since the middle of August. Since stablecoins are intended to maintain a 1:1 peg with their underlying fiat currency and are issued or destroyed when users buy or redeem tokens, their market caps often reflect circulation.
With the text of the bill established, MiCA will soon be put to a final vote in the European Parliament. If passed, the bill is anticipated to take effect in 2024.
According to Hansen, the three objectives of MiCA were to consolidate the industry, establish regulatory standards, and protect consumers. “The outcome of the legislative process is a great step in that direction.”
Based on the latest Chainalysis analysis, Europe is expected to become a key player in the cryptocurrency market since it is once again the nation with the largest crypto economy. The blockchain analytics and compliance company reported that users there received $1.3 trillion in crypto assets between July 2021 and the end of June, closely followed by users in the United States, who received $1.15 trillion.
Chainalysis noted, in fact, that the MiCA regulatory framework and the elaboration of the Financial Action Task Force’s Travel Rule as reasons that the industry has found improved regulatory clarity in Europe. The Travel Rule is to gather the identity of senders and receivers for significant transactions.
