On Thursday, Stefan Berger, the leading lawmaker for the EU’s MiCA (Markets in Crypto Assets) law, said the text could be ready in six weeks. The MiCA law will change the crypto regulatory climate in Europe. 

Crypto Firms to Register with State Regulators

On June 30th, governments and lawmakers reached an agreement on the outline of the MiCA law. This requires crypto firms to register with state regulators before they can offer crypto services.

However, the final text of the law is not yet available. This casts doubts on the final points of the law. This includes if the regulation applies to NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

NFTs offer proof of ownership for digital assets like artworks, paintings, and videos. It uses distributed ledger technology to certify ownership. 

Additionally, the law would set out the parameters that EU member states will follow to regulate crypto. The legislation would create a licensing regime. 

This licensing regime would allow crypto firms in one state to function in another state. This is because the laws would be similar.

Also, the law makes provisions for the issuance of stablecoins. A German politician leading the negotiations for the MiCA law, Berger, told Bundesblock that they are still working on the bill. 

“I believe the text would be ready in the next four to six weeks. We are currently working on the draft every day. Although it is in the process, we should present something by six weeks,” Berger added.

Berger Uncertain of How the Law Would Affect NFTs 

Under the final draft, crypto firms with more than 15 million active customers would be supervised at the EU level, Berger stated. He added that most crypto players, except the large ones, would be under national regulators such as the BaFin.

However, Berger is uncertain of how the law regards NFTs. Moreover, many crypto proponents believe a premature regulation would harm the growth and development of the crypto sector.

There are rumors that the law would require NFT platforms such as OpenSea to have a license. Berger said they chose to omit NFTs from the MiCA law, except they are similar to traditional financial assets.

Unfortunately, his remarks are not in line with that of European Commission officials. The officials said the final draft is narrow. Hence most NFTs would fall under the crypto law.

Meanwhile, the crypto community awaits the final release of the law. A crypto advisor at the crypto firm Prestige Capital, Patrick Hansen, said he awaits details of the law.

Hansen added that most NFTs in the marker are in series or collections. Hence, if the law wants to regulate NFT collections, it will affect most NFTs.