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EU Opens MiCA Review Just After Full Rollout, With Stablecoin Rules in Focus
Summary
- The European Commission has begun discussing revisions to the MiCA framework just as the regime entered full effect.
- The review is focused on regulation of stablecoins, which have emerged as global payments infrastructure.
- Patrick Hansen said MiCA should be seen as "version 1," with parts that work well kept in place and less effective provisions adjusted.
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The European Union has started reviewing possible changes to its Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, framework just as the bloc completes the rulebook's full rollout.
CoinDesk reported on July 1 that the European Commission opened a public consultation in May to assess whether MiCA remains fit for the current crypto industry. MiCA is now fully in force, but the commission is examining which parts of the framework may need revision, the report said.
The discussion is focused on stablecoin regulation. When MiCA was designed, the EU's main concern was crypto exchanges. Since then, stablecoins have rapidly emerged as global payments infrastructure, and the enactment of the Genius Act, a U.S. stablecoin law, has intensified comparisons with the EU's rules.
Patrick Hansen, Circle's director of EU strategy and policy, said the review does not mean MiCA has failed. Given the speed of change in crypto and stablecoin markets, regular reviews were unavoidable from the early stages of implementation, he said.
He described MiCA as a kind of "version 1," saying the parts that work well should be kept while less effective provisions should be adjusted in comparison with other regulatory frameworks.
JOON HYOUNG LEE
gilson@bloomingbit.ioCrypto Journalist based in Seoul