Parliament Prepares Virtual Currencies Vote

Limiting Proof-of-Work Crypto Back on the Table as EU

Parliament Prepares Virtual Currencies Vote

A provision looking to force proof-of-work cryptocurrencies like bitcoin to switch to the more environmentally friendly proof-of-stake consensus mechanism is in a draft of MiCA up for a parliamentary vote on Monday

The latest draft of the European Union's (EU) proposed legislative framework for governing virtual currencies, Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), still contains a provision that could limit the use of proof-of-work cryptocurrencies.
Proof-of-work is the energy-intensive consensus mechanism that underlies popular cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether. The computing process has come under heavy scrutiny from lawmakers in the EU over energy concerns.
A previous draft of the MiCA framework contained a strongly worded provision that proposed a prohibition of crypto services that rely on environmentally unsustainable consensus mechanisms starting in January 2025. But the provision was later scrapped following industry backlash