The Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union, which comprises of finance ministers from all EU member states, has officially given the green light to the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation after a unanimous vote on May 16.

Finance members from 27 member states have voted in favor of the MiCA bill alongside several amendments to multiple regulations and directives related to the new legislation. In conjunction with the MiCA adoption, the European Parliament adopted two more pieces of legislation focused on the transfer of funds and specific crypto assets.

Widely welcomed by cryptocurrency service providers, traders and investors, the legislation lays out clear regulatory guidelines and requirements for using cryptocurrencies and crypto-related services and activities across the European Union.

The freshly-approved law encapsulates a wide range of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, digital assets and utility tokens. The MiCA legislation also includes registration and authorization conditions for cryptocurrency issuers, crypto exchanges and crypto wallet providers.

Stablecoin issuers are required to meet certain security and risk mitigation conditions, while cryptocurrency custody services must guarantee sufficient security and safety measures which focus on addressing potential cybersecurity breaches and operational failures.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/eu-council-approves-mica-regulations

https://www.reuters.com/technology/eu-council-adopts-first-legal-framework-regulate-crypto-sector-2023-05-16/

https://crypto.ro/en/news/eu-finance-ministers-approve-mica-legislation-for-crypto-regulation/