EU Lawmakers Scrap Controversial Legislation Outlawing PoW Digital Assets

European Union (EU) lawmakers have backtracked on a controversial paragraph from recent legislation that would have outlawed all proof-of-work (PoW) operated cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, from Europe.

The Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, championed by Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) rapporteur, Stefan Berger, was initially set for deliberation on February 28. However, following a thunderous opposition to the bill, considering that it could be easily misinterpreted as an outright ban on Bitcoin and other cryptos, the vote got postponed.

That said, new reports from a German media outlet revealed that the passage had been scrapped. Meanwhile, the vote for the highly-anticipated market regulatory act for the crypto industry has yet to be rescheduled.

Making some clarifications on the development, Berger tweeted:

“The paragraph is no longer in the text. The report has yet to be voted on in committee. In this vote, we will see where the majorities lie. The decision has not yet been made #MiCA.”

The controversial passage in the bill mandated that cryptocurrencies that failed to align with environmentally friendly consensus mechanisms, like PoS, should not be given operational room within the eurozone. The passage also added that all assets have to scale minimum environmental stability standards.

EU Authorities to Debate Amended MiCA Bill

That said, if the modified version attracts the required number of votes to pass, it will move up to trilogue debates, including the European Commission and Council, along with the Parliament.

Nonetheless, global regulators continue to brainstorm ways to regulate the environmental impact of PoW related digital assets.

In Europe, crypto mining debates dominated the crypto space in 2021. These debates have led several industry players to embrace eco-friendly PoS networks, with others avoiding Bitcoin and other PoW digital assets.