A phrase that threatened to ban crypto companies from relying on energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) mining has been removed from the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) proposal, legislation crafted to regulate Europe’s cryptocurrency sector, Bitcoin.com reported Thursday (March 3).
The European Parliament was expected to approve the proposal in February, but the vote was postponed after cryptocurrency industry advocates raised objections.
The text, introduced by members of the Left, Greens and Social Democrats parties, would have prohibited companies from offering services for the purchase, custody and trading of PoW-based crypto assets. PoW refers to a system that requires efforts to deter frivolous or malicious uses of computing power, such as spam.
The vote was canceled on the request of Stefan Berger, a member of the European People’s Party.
“We now want to get the MiCA through the Parliament as quickly as possible,” Berger said. “Talks are in full swing.”
Regulators and government officials across Europe have called for a ban on PoW mining, noting its need to use considerable electric power in these operations. In January, the vice chairman of a European Union regulator called on the 27 member states to prohibit energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining.
Read more: Regulator: EU Should Ban Crypto Mining Method That Uses Large Amount of Energy
Erik Thedéen, vice chairman of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), said bitcoin mining has become a national issue for his native Sweden and warned that cryptocurrencies exacerbate climate change. Instead, he argued that the sector should adopt a Proof-of-Stake model that uses less energy.
