PANews reported on December 10 that with only three weeks left before the EU's Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) takes effect at the end of the year, nearly a quarter of the EU's 27 member states are still not ready, including Belgium, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Luxembourg, and Romania.
According to letters submitted to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) by several crypto industry associations, the regulatory authority will face immense difficulties in processing applications from crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) in a short period of time.
MiCA is being implemented in two phases, with the focus in June on issuers of stablecoins and in December on the registration and licensing of CASPs. However, as some technical standards were only finalized in October, national regulators have only had two months to deal with the complex regulatory adjustments and application processes. Industry associations have requested a 6-month "no-action" period, but ESMA has currently rejected this proposal and will only provide "guidance" on the timeline at its meeting on December 11.
Industry sources indicate that if licenses cannot be obtained on time, some crypto companies may be forced to temporarily suspend their operations in the EU, which will have an adverse impact on users and businesses, and damage the EU's reputation. Currently, countries such as Ireland, Portugal, Poland, Spain, and Italy are believed to be facing significant challenges, while even countries with existing crypto regulations, such as Germany and Malta, also need time to adjust to meet MiCA requirements.
