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Irish politician calls for more strict crypto regulations in Europe.

An Irish politician has called for stronger measures to be taken to regulate cryptocurrencies in the European Union.
An Irish politician has called for stronger measures to be taken to regulate cryptocurrencies in the European Union.

An Irish politician has called for stronger measures to be taken to regulate digital currency in the European Union to provide greater legal certainty for businesses and more robust protections to crypto consumers. Chris MacManus, a Sinn Fein Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Midland Northwest, said cryptocurrency laws should be tightened across the bloc, submitting some 45 amendments to the EU. According to MacManus, his proposals would enforce a more formal process for launching and promoting crypto assets.

Chris MacManus wants a competent authority like central banks to authorize crypto assets.

Chris MacManus said, “Under my proposals, all new and existing crypto-assets will require authorization by a ‘competent authority’ like the Central Bank. Currently, currency founders simply have to deposit a white paper that outlines the crypto assets’ purpose and technology, with no scrutiny whatsoever. These white papers, under my amendments, would also require a lot more detail and transparency.” The Irish politicians also said state authorities should be required to consider the environmental impact of digital currency projects before giving their approval, in a move aimed squarely at block reward mining.

Recommendations also include provision for stablecoins.

Chris’s recommendations also include provision for stablecoins and their issuers and virtual asset service providers (VASPs). In particular, stablecoin issuers would be required to hold equivalent cash reserves to the total value of their stablecoin in circulation to allow coin holders the option of redemption for fiat. Sinn Fein, a Member of the European Parliament, said the measures would make the digital currency market more secure and more transparent while making it harder for cryptocurrencies to be used by criminals or in illegal transactions. Financial regulators across countries have expressed concern over cryptocurrency regulations and the need to make them more strict.

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