After a false alarm on Thursday, when pre-trilogue amendments were mistaken for a new version, we can now take a look at the text that will be voted on by the @Europarl_EN on 20/4
TL;DR - No changes for DeFi, NFTs & stablecoins' caps
A quick 🧵
MiCA will NOT apply to "crypto-asset services provided in a fully decentralised manner without any intermediary"
The @EU_Commission will produce a report in 18 months assessing the "necessity and feasibility of regulating #DeFi"
It will also NOT apply to unique and non-fungible tokens, but it WILL apply to fractional #NFTs
Authorities to adopt a "substance over form approach" when classifying NFTs, as their "de facto features" or their "issuance in a large series" could mean they are fungible = captured
Issuers of ARTs & EMTs-pegged to a non-EU currency need to stop issuing their #stablecoins if these become too widely used as means of exchange
Stablecoins used for crypto trading would NOT be counted, unless they are used for settlement of transactions in other crypto-assets
Crypto providers from outside the EU need to comply with the rules only if they solicit clients in the EU, regardless of the means of communication used or any contractual disclaimers
It was an interesting discussion, with the underlying question being
"Would #MiCA have prevented the FTX collapse? Will the new rules be enough to address those issues?"
A🧵with key quotes:
1/9
Speakers underlined this is not a #crypto issue, but a human one
"The lack of segregation of user data in the #FTXscandal demonstrates the legislative need for the #EU to apply existing data protection rules to the #crypto market"
It is to the #crypto market what Lehman Brothers represented for the traditional finance industry. Had #MiCA been already in place, the #FTX case should have never been possible"
The original Transfers-of-Funds Regulation was established in 2015 and introduced the requirement for financial institutions to accompany each #transfer of funds with verified information about the originator and beneficiary of the transfer.
2/18
As part of its 2020 Action Plan on preventing #moneylaundering and #terrorism financing, the @EU_Commission put forward a legislative proposal for a recast of the original #TFR text with the main objective of expanding traceability requirements to crypto-assets.
The landmark #crypto regulation sets out uniform 🇪🇺 requirements for offerors of #cryptoassets and service providers (#CASPs) to apply for authorisation in the Single Market.
Even though a better agreement was close last week, 🇫🇷 vetoed it during the 🇪🇺 MS intervention period & raised concerns on USD-denominated #stablecoins used as a "means of #exchange", suggesting a return to their restriction when used for #settlement purposes ❗️
2/22
The compromise was to at least clarify that USD-#stablecoins used for spot #trading would NOT be captured.
The final text was approval by #COREPER yesterday and @EP_Economics will do it on 10/10. Final adoption by Ministers and the Parliament’s Plenary will be end of Oct.
EU institutions are working to finalise the #TFR text to implement the #travelrule in Europe. Please find below the latest details. The aimed-for deadline for conclusion is still the first week of June.
1/9
Key issues on table:
The provisions introduced by the @Europarl_EN requiring #verification of information for each transfer of assets, the additional requirements applied to transfers to #unhosted wallets and the #blacklist of non-compliant entities.
2/9
In the past weeks, the @EUCouncil has taken onboard the concerns from the blockchain & crypto #industry, as well as those of regulators and competent #authorities (!), that flagged the impracticality and unintended consequences these provisions would have.
3/9