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Bitcoin Ban Scrapped in European Union
ByNick
-
March 1, 2022
The key removal in the European Union legislation is a major victory for Bitcoin and Proof-of-Work mining.
Bitcoin Ban Scrapped from EU Legislation
The legislation set forward in the European Union, which planned a blanket ban on proof-of-work coins and spelled disaster for sensible bitcoin adoption in Europe, has been scrapped. European MP Stefan Berger confirmed on Twitter this morning that “The paragraph is no longer in the text.”As BTC-ECHO, a German crypto outlet, pointed out, ” A Bitcoin ban in Europa is off the table. The responsible committee has canceled the deletion of the controversial paragraph from the #MiCA draft.”
According to the press coverage in Europe, the now-scrapped paragraph in the legislation “would have meant a de facto ban on services for Proof-of-Work-based cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.” The impact would have broad and regressive.
In particular, it would’ve banned “crypto service providers” from facilitating the “purchase or trading of such crypto-assets” and would’ve prevented custody services for “such crypto-assets”. The draft, and this provision specifically, was pushed by the factions of the Left, Greens, and Social Democrats.
Disaster Averted, Bitcoin Spared
The legislation was supposed to be decided on Monday, but the aforementioned MP Stefan Berger suspended the vote, stating: “it has been confirmed that there was a majority in favor of postponing the MiCA vote. The reason was the question of proof-of-work.”EU MP Stefan Berger
Now that this piece of the legislation is off the table, the parties will reconvene and negotiate further. Berger is at loggerheads with people like Christine Lagarde, the head of the EU Central Bank. She wants to expedite “drafting crypto regulation in Europe” and has expressed concerns about Russia using it to evade sanctions.
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In a recent copy of the legislation obtained by the Block from January 25th, the text read that “crypto-assets issued, offered or admitted to trading in the Union shall not be based or rely on environmentally unsustainable consensus mechanisms.”
It would have restricted the use of the “environmentally unsustainable” cryptocurrency. Considering there are 27 member states in the EU, the setback for the burgeoning crypto industry, especially in places like Switzerland, could’ve been crippled.
It also could’ve forced even solo miners to register with authorities to monitor their energy consumption. Mining and crypto itself have long been a target of certain EU members and regulators, mainly in Sweden. Berger has commented that such legislation would be a “death sentence for bitcoin in the European Union.”
Energy FUD Debunked, Again
Eric Wall, a native Swede, refuted Sweden’s calls for a mining ban, stating that “no major mining companies have set up in Sweden, and there is no evidence that a large part of Sweden’s renewable energy production is getting sucked up by mining.”Bitcoin’s largest hash-rate percentage in the EU comes out of Ireland and Germany (5%), but even that is in dispute due to “likely significantly inflated” numbers thanks to virtual private networks (VPN) and other methods used to redirect IP addresses.”
Nevertheless, as Forbes and others have pointed out, Bitcoin mining uses more sustainable energy “than any major country or industry.” HIVE, according to the article, “uses 100% green renewable energy.”
Bitcoin miners are actually more inclined to be cleaner and greener due to measures like what the EU tried. Just have a look at the below chart. Thankfully, the growing awareness of this fact and the promise of bitcoin is causing those seeking to ban it more than they had bargained for.
BREAKING: Bitcoin Ban Scrapped in European Union - CryptosRus
The European Union was close to passing legislation that contained a de facto ban on Bitcoin and other PoW cryptos. It's now been scrapped.
cryptosrus.com
