The European Union will vote on the final wording of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) bill this month. It is set to make the bloc the first major global jurisdiction to install a comprehensive regulatory framework for the crypto sector.
The law is expected to provide credibility to the crypto sector, with licensed crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) required to offer investor protections under MiCA across the EU.
If the EU sets the right regulatory balance between freedom and restriction, the bloc could eclipse London as a center of trade for digitized financial markets.
The regulatory environment needs to be safe, secure, and effective, and in my own view, the US has gone too far in effectively making it impossible for certain actors to participate in digital asset marketplace.
Hong Kong has implemented its own crypto and digital asset regulatory framework, and Gulf states such as Dubai are also positioning themselves as attractive environments for digital asset trading.