EU Delays Vote on MiCA Crypto Legislation Until February

European Union lawmakers won’t vote on the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA) until February, likely meaning further delays in the landmark licensing regime for crypto companies within the bloc, a spokesperson for the European Parliament has told CoinDesk.

A previous tentative plan for the Parliament to vote at its December plenary session has been abandoned given the length and complexity of the text, CoinDesk was told.

The political outline of the legislation, which sets reserve requirements for stablecoins intended to avoid a terraUSD-style collapse, was approved in June, and the final text published in October. However, the text still needs to be formally signed off by both lawmakers and national governments that make up the EU’s Council.

EU procedures require legal acts such as MiCA, which was negotiated in English, to be available in all the bloc's 24 official languages.

The law’s provisions, which require crypto companies such as wallet providers and exchange platforms to seek authorization from national regulators, start to apply between 12 and 18 months after the final law is published in the EU’s Official Journal – an event originally foreseen for spring of next year, but which now seems set to be pushed back.

Read more: Analyzing What's Next for Europe's Markets in Crypto Assets Law