EU Parliament Backtracks Ban On Bitcoin’s Proof-Of-Work

The ECON committee voted against a provision that would limit Proof-of-Work mining in the EU, passing an alternative rule.

• Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work (PoW) will no longer be limited in the European Union.
• The EU ECON committee voted on Monday to remove a section relating to a de-facto ban on bitcoin mining in the continent.
• An alternative amendment passed, adding bitcoin mining to the EU sustainable finance taxonomy.

The European Union (EU) has dropped its plans to impose a de-facto ban on bitcoin mining and related activities that could allegedly hurt the region’s efforts to promote sustainable technologies, according to multiple reports.

The proposed de-facto ban on the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism was part of a major draft bill in the EU, the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation, introduced in 2020 to tighten regulation around Bitcoin and cryptocurrency by establishing a more detailed and streamlined regulatory framework across the continent.

“It seems that reason and common sense prevailed,” Paris MP Pierre Person tweeted. “We must continue to defend the principe of technological neutrality. Europe must remain in the global competition!”

The EU Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) voted against the ban on Monday, while passing a new amendment that adds cryptocurrency mining to the EU sustainable finance taxonomy.

“By 1 January 2025, the Commission shall present to the European Parliament and to the Council, as appropriate, a legislative proposal to amend Regulation (EU) 2020/852, in accordance with Article 10 of that Regulation, with a view to including in the EU sustainable finance taxonomy any cryptoasset mining activities that contribute substantially to climate change mitigation and adaptation,” the alternative regulation states, according to multiple sources.

Though the provision on mining has been removed from MiCA competencies, a broad range of cryptocurrency regulation remains at the core of the rules. MiCA legislation also encompasses transparency and disclosure requirements for the issuance of cryptocurrency, authorization and supervision of related service providers, and consumer protection rules.