Regulators Across the Ocean Discuss Stablecoins and MiCa at Joint Forum
It’s not every week that regulators from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean get together to discuss cryptocurrencies. But that’s what happened last week, with counterparts from the European Union and the United States sharing their thoughts on stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the proposal in the markets. crypto assets (MiCA).
Representatives of the European Commission, European Banking Authority (EBA), European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and several other EU-level bodies met with officials from the US Treasury Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other US colleagues to discuss the regulatory routine.
The meeting took place on July 13-14 in the form of the Joint EU-US Forum on Financial Regulation. Digital finance has become just one of six key topics, alongside sustainable finance and climate-related financial risks, regulatory developments in banking and insurance, anti-money laundering Money and Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) and other immediate issues.
The two sides discussed recent developments regarding stablecoins, and the EU delegation updated their US counterparts on the provisional agreement reached on the MiCA settlement. The United States, in turn, gave an overview of their work on crypto assets, including stablecoins.
As the official report mentions, without any specification, the exchange also “provided an update on discussions around the development of potential central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).”
Related: MiCA and ToFR: EU Set to Regulate Crypto-Asset Market
On June 30, Stefan Berger, Member of the European Parliament and rapporteur for the MiCA Regulation, revealed that a “balanced” agreement on the regulatory package had been reached, which made the European Union the first continent to regulate crypto-assets. Although the package dropped the de facto ban on proof-of-work (PoW) mining, it still contains controversial guidelines, particularly regarding stablecoins.
On Tuesday, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand revealed that their long-awaited “crypto bill” is unlikely to pass the Senate this year.
