Cryptocurrency companies will need a licence and customer safeguards to issue and sell digital tokens in the European Union under groundbreaking new rules agreed by the bloc to tame a volatile “Wild West” market.
“Today we put order in the Wild West of crypto assets and set clear rules for a harmonized market,” said Stefan Berger, a German centre-right lawmaker who led negotiations on behalf of the parliament. Bitcoin, the biggest token, has slumped some 70% since its November record of $69,000, dragging down the overall market.The landmark regulation confirms the EU’s role as a standard-setter for digital issues, EU states said.
The new law gives issuers of crypto assets and providers of related services a “passport” to serve clients across the EU from a single base. “Thanks to last-minute changes, we also fear that stablecoins will basically have no ways to be profitable,” Kopitsch said. Finance Watch, which promotes the public interest in finance, said the rules will protect consumers, and it welcomed the new role for EBA after the difficulties faced by stablecoins.Many states, including Ireland, Lithuania and Greece, have long opposed including non-fungible tokens , which are digital assets representing objects from art to videos.