EU is planning to ban PoW powered cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
A proposed legislation in the Parliament of the European Union (EU) could ban the two biggest cryptocurrencies of the world, Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee is set to vote on a draft of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework on Monday, reported Bloomberg.
A late addition that seeks to limit the use of cryptocurrencies powered by an energy-intensive consensus mechanism known as Proof-of-Work (PoW). This means that Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two most used cryptocurrencies, will be restricted in the region.
The draft reads that crypto assets “shall be subject to minimum environmental sustainability standards with respect to their consensus mechanism used for validating transactions, before being issued, offered or admitted to trading in the Union.”
Earlier it was expected that no cryptocurrency will be banned as Proof of Work as an independent discussion of PoW was no longer planned in MiCA. But things took a different turn as the ban provisions made a return.
Pascal Gaulthier, Chief Executive of Ledger, reacted to the legislation.
Ethereum is planning to move to the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. So, it will circumvent this ban in future.
As far as legislative processes go, there is no guarantee that this bill will be passed or rejected.
Carbon footprint of Proof of Work powered cryptocurrencies has been in question for quite a time. Last year, China also attributed the crypto crackdown to the ecological implications, as it was the mining hub of the world back then. Eco-friendly technologies are the need of the hour for the world. Crypto researchers are working towards finding green technologies to power the network.
News recommendation: More than 500 Projects are Being Built on Cardano
Be First to Comment