It looks like all these different countries are taking a page out of what has become the infamous China crypto book. The European Union (EU) is all set to vote on whether to ban bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining given its alleged impacts on the planet. The ban would come through drafted legislation known as the Markets in Crypto Assets (MICA) framework.
The EU Will Vote On a Potential Crypto Ban
At the risk of sounding preachy, this is getting rather old. How many more arguments are we going to have to hear about bitcoin mining’s potential environmental hazards? For the most part, a lot of these arguments have been debunked, and bitcoin mining has been said by many industry experts to use nowhere near as much energy as people seem to think it does. Despite all this, many people out there still want the entire industry brought to its knees.
The economic and monetary affairs committee – a division of the EU – will make the decision regarding whether to ban digital currency mining in the future. The goal is to make all digital currencies – whether they be bitcoin or something else – to switch to proof of stake (PoS) modules over proof of work (PoW), which is what BTC primarily relies on at the time of writing.
Proof of work operates through heavy duty computers solving complex mathematical equations to extract units from the blockchain. Many industry experts have stated that what the EU is trying to accomplish cannot be done, as they are essentially trying to “ban mathematics” through disallowing proof of work systems.
In a recent tweet, anonymous crypto advocate Plan B described the EU’s plan as “peak stupidity:”
Intel embraces new technology and invests billions in proof of work mining. Meanwhile, Europe wants to ban that same proof of work technology, which is just math. Europe is at peak stupidity.
Jeremy Allaire – the head of crypto payment platform Circle – also rang in, explaining:
That such a proposal made it this far is extraordinarily concerning and unlikely to stand up to practical reality.
This Could Have Damaging Results
Jake Chervinsky – a lawyer that predominantly works on crypto-related cases and the head of policy for the Blockchain Association – mentioned in a statement that if crypto analysts thought Biden’s recent crypto executive order was damaging to the space, they were in for a world of shock if the EU got its way. He said:
The MICA situation is worse for crypto than anything in the USA. Tomorrow, the European Parliament votes on ‘environmental sustainability standards’ that look like a pretext for a bitcoin ban. If it passes, it can be undone in the next phase of the EU process, but it’s very bad.
This is arguably a trend that began last summer when China voted to ban all crypto mining projects from its turf.