Today, we won an important victory for the future of Web3 and for Europe’s continued ability to lead its development. An EU Parliament committee voted on an amendment to MiCA that would have banned Bitcoin, Ethereum and other popular digital assets. Fortunately for Europe and Web3 that amendment failed.
This should be a wake up call to everyone building in Web3, we came just four votes shy of a major setback! We’ve ignored the policy risk to our space for far too long. The community in the U.S. learned this lesson with last summer’s Infrastructure Bill.
We need to organize and engage. We need to build a physical policy presence in Brussels just as we’re building virtual ones in the metaverse.
We also need to meet policymakers where they are and champion the core values of individual liberty, economic empowerment, tech neutrality, and support of innovation.
We need to stay vigilant to preserve and extend European competitiveness and seize “new economy” opportunities like Web3. These ideas should be natural and intuitive for European policymakers to support.
While we should celebrate this win, the fight is far from over. Already, we’re hearing that those who wish to ban Bitcoin are planning to try again in the upcoming plenary vote. And, other aspects of MiCA remain deeply problematic, particularly its potential to stifle the growth of NFTs and DeFi.
The power of crypto and Web3 is in its communities and blockchains cannot survive without user support. As Web3 evolves, we’ll need your support to defend this new future we’re building together. We’re here for the long haul. Join us.
