EU Agrees On Rules Regulating Crypto

"European Union officials agreed on rules that would regulate the crypto market in the bloc, forcing platforms to seek authorization to operate and providing safeguards to users.

The agreement still needs to go through Brussels' complex legal process and might not kick in until 2024. However, officials say it will make the EU the first broad region with common crypto-asset regulation in the world. Some countries have national legislation governing digital assets, but these would mark the first EU-wide rules.

While increasing the burden on crypto exchanges and issuers of cryptocurrencies, it will also make it easier for them to provide their services cross-border in the EU's 27 member countries.

U.S. authorities are also grasping with supervision of the rapidly growing cryptocurrency industry. As of now, it is a patchwork system, with cryptocurrencies shoehorned into regulations for securities and commodities. On Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen convened a group of financial regulators from across the government to again discuss regulating stablecoins and intensifying efforts on Capitol Hill to craft new legislation.

In a sign that the Biden administration is opening up its approach on the issue, the group was open to supporting alternative forms of regulation for stablecoins besides imposing banklike requirements on issuers' reserves, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The same group of regulators had previously recommended that Congress pass legislation regulating stablecoins like banks. Lawmakers and Biden administration officials are hoping to pass legislation boosting federal regulation of stablecoins by the end of the year.

Under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, or MiCA, agreed on late Thursday, investors will receive some protection. In a key feature, stablecoin issuers will have to maintain reserves that will cover mass withdrawals and be based in the EU.

"This landmark regulation will put an end to the crypto wild west and confirms the EU's role as a standard-setter for digital topics," said Bruno Le Maire, France's economy minister.

Martin Bruncko, executive vice president for Europe at crypto exchange Binance said, "We welcome the creation of a single European market for crypto and blockchain."" [1]

1. EXCHANGE --- EU Agrees On Rules Regulating Crypto
Kowsmann, Patricia; Ostroff, Caitlin; Duehren, Andrew. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 02 July 2022: B.11.