Should crypto assets and initial token offers (ICOs) be regulated at European level? This is the question that MEPs debated on Tuesday 13 November in Strasbourg.
And a majority of MEPs voted in favour. However, looking back two years, the European Parliament had adopted a report stating that a European framework for virtual currencies was, at this stage, not necessary (see EUROPE 11559).
But times have changed. For Markus Ferber (EPP, Germany), virtual currencies have not lived up to their "promise of a revolution". They are evolving into a kind of "Far West" that must now be managed, he said, advocating for a European solution.
Pervenche Berès (S&D, France) recalled that the Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee had recently refused to include ICOs in the regulation on participatory financing (see EUROPE 12130). "This was not their place”, she said, stressing also the need for the Commission to act on this issue.
Tom Vandenkendelaere (EPP, Belgium) said that work at the G20 level should be taken into account and that the issue could not only be regulated at a European level.
Of course, there are also sceptics, including David Coburn (ELDD, UK), who felt that the EU was seeking to "stifle" rather than encourage competition.
On the Commission's side, their position does not really seem to have changed (see EUROPE 11969). The European Commissioner for Financial Services, Valdis Dombrovskis, indicated that the institution fully endorsed the conclusions of the Financial Stability Board, according to which crypto assets do not currently pose a risk to global financial stability (see EUROPE 12068).
However, he acknowledged that warnings to investors about potential risks were no longer sufficient and that rules may be necessary. This raises two questions, he explained: - are crypto-assets financial instruments and should they be treated as such? - is the current regulatory framework appropriate?
"We need to make an informed decision to strike the right balance”, he concluded. The Commission is waiting for the results of the evaluation of the European Financial Supervisory Authorities by the end of the year before deciding which direction to take. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)