EU Seals Text of Landmark Crypto Law MiCA, Fund Transfer Rules

The European Union (EU) has agreed upon the full legal text of its landmark legislation known as the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), alongside a further law to reveal the identity of those making crypto payments.

At a Wednesday meeting, diplomats representing the bloc's member governments in the EU's Council signed off on the text of laws which were the subject of political deals struck in June, apparently without further discussion, a source briefed on the talks told CoinDesk.

MiCA introduces the first-ever licensing regime for crypto wallets and exchanges to operate across the bloc and imposes reserve requirements on stablecoins that are intended to avoid Terra-style collapses. A separate law on funds transfers requires wallet providers to check their customer's identity, in a bid to cut money laundering.

Since June, officials and lawmakers have attempted to turn the two political outlines agreed upon in June into a definitive legislative text.

Industry lobbyists were hopeful they could still clarify measures in MiCA that they feared could limit the trading of U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins within the bloc. But softer legal language that leaked two weeks ago appears to have been rebuffed by countries such as France that are keen to avoid incursion into the sovereign role of the euro.

Read more: Industry Offers Cautious Welcome to EU’s Landmark Crypto Law MiCA

The text must also be formally agreed to by lawmakers at the European Parliament and is expected to be published in the EU's official journal in the early part of next year before taking effect in 2024.