EU policymakers have cast doubt on whether the bloc’s incoming cryptocurrency regulations are robust enough to prevent a repeat of the collapse of FTX, whose bankruptcy has sent shockwaves through the digital assets industry.
During a hearing held by the European parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee on Wednesday, MEPs questioned if the EU’s landmark crypto framework Markets in Crypto-Assets (Mica), which comes into force in 2024, could stop an FTX-equivalent collapse.
“I have serious doubts that Mica would have prevented what happened . . . many of the problems are well beyond the scope of [the legislation],” said Spanish MEP Ernest Urtasun. Aurore Lalucq, a French MEP who has previously criticised some of Europe’s approach to digital assets, said she would like Europe’s lawmakers to “wake up”.