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ECB Wants Quick Action on Crypto Regulation Following Russian Sanctions
The European parliament earlier today postponed a vote on a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.
Updated May 11, 2023, 6:39 p.m. Published Feb 25, 2022, 7:20 p.m.
Speaking to the press following a meeting of the EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council, ECB President Christine Lagarde says it's "critically important" for the so-called MiCA legislation to be pushed through as soon as possible.
- The Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation has been worked on for several years to provide a structure for broadly regulating the burgeoning cryptocurrency market. A vote on its passage was supposed to take place on Feb. 28, but was suspended indefinitely today on criticism that wording in the bill could overly restrict or even ban the energy-intensive proof-of-work process that secures the Bitcoin network, among others.
- While there's been lots of speculation on how Russia might make use of cryptocurrency networks to assist in evading stringent financial sanctions imposed by the EU and U.S., many legal and blockchain experts aren't convinced it's possible.
- The ECB's Lagarde: "There are always criminal ways to try to circumvent a prohibition, which is why it's so critically important that MiCA is pushed through as quickly as possible so we have a regulatory framework."
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What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
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Canadian Province Wins Forfeiture of $1M QuadrigaCX Co-Founder's Cash, Gold via Default Judgment
The ruling transfers cash, gold bars, watches, and jewelry seized from a CIBC safety deposit box and bank account into government hands after Patryn did not defend the case.
What to know:
- The Supreme Court of British Columbia has forfeited $1 million in cash and gold tied to QuadrigaCX's co-founder, Michael Patryn, to the government.
- Patryn did not contest the forfeiture, which involved 45 gold bars, luxury watches, and over $250,000 in cash seized under an Unexplained Wealth Order.
- The forfeiture may lead to a process determining if any assets can be directed to QuadrigaCX's creditors, who received 13 cents on the dollar in the bankruptcy settlement.
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