EU votes against de facto PoW ban in crypto markets bill

The EU Parliament ECON Committee rejected the contentious language experts called the de facto ban of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

EU flags flapping in the wind

Introduced last week, the provision required existing energy-intensive cryptoassets to “set up and maintain a phased rollout plan to meet environmental sustainability standards”. The change came as a surprise after a similar measure had been removed from an earlier version of the bill.

The newly-added clause got the crypto community on their toes, and some, including the hardware wallet company Ledger, called on crypto enthusiasts to contact their representatives in the EU Parliament.

The updated MiCA faces another vote before ECON on Monday before it moves to the next legislative stages.