EU Passes Sweeping Crypto Regulations: End of the Wild West ?

• The European Parliament has approved new regulations for the crypto industry, including a digital euro.
• The goal of the regulations is to prevent abuse and manipulation, as well as protecting customers’ funds.
• Providers will also have to report on how they are reducing energy use, carbon emissions and overall pollution.

New Crypto Regulations

The European Parliament has recently approved sweeping digital currency regulations that aim to prevent abuse and manipulation in the crypto industry, as well as ensure customer funds remain protected. These rules come in response to the FTX debacle from last November, where executives allegedly used customer funds to pay off loans and buy luxury real estate. EU commissioner for financial services Mairead McGuinness stated that had these rules been in place earlier, many of FTX’s practices would not have been permissible under MiCA.

Digital Euro

In addition to these new regulations, a digital euro is also planned to be implemented at some point later this year. This could potentially bring more stability into the crypto market, while also allowing citizens access to an alternative form of payment beyond traditional fiat money.

Eco-Friendly Protocols

Crypto companies and large providers must now provide information on how they intend to reduce energy use, carbon emissions and overall pollution. Ernest Urtasun – one of the EU lawmakers pushing forward with these regulations – said that this brings an end to the “Wild West” status that the crypto industry has held over the past decade or so.

Traditional Finance Similarities

The present regulations are set up in a way so that it will be much harder for cyberthieves to make off with digital assets, while mirroring some aspects of traditional finance at the same time. All wallet providers (including exchanges) must take measures to ensure all digital currency assets held within their systems remain protected; otherwise they face harsh penalties if they fail in doing so.

Conclusion

Overall, these new regulations from the European Union will bring much needed structure into an otherwise Wild West-like environment for digital currencies – protecting customers‘ assets while also reducing energy usage and pollution levels at the same time.