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EU Proposes Ban on Proof of Work Cryptos Like Bitcoin – Blockchain News, Opinion, TV and Jobs

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2 years ago

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By Marcus Sotiriou, Analyst at the UK based digital asset broker GlobalBlock

Bitcoin climbed overnight to $39,000, as the crypto market remains in a state of indecision. There are bullish and bearish catalysts on the horizon, but in the short term risks are dominant in my opinion.

On the positive side, Terra founder Do Kwon says the Luna Foundation Guard is planning to add $1.2 billion Bitcoin to its reserves starting from this week in order to make the UST stablecoin more stable and decrease the risk of UST losing its peg. Do Kwon said, “If there is any confusion left at this point, we will keep growing reserves until it becomes mathematically impossible for idiots to claim depeg risk for UST.” He has hinted that they plan on growing their Bitcoin reserves to $10 billion in the future.

However, the current risks in the market are significant. The European Union’s (EU) have proposed legislative framework for governing cryptocurrencies called Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA). A previous draft of the MiCA framework proposed a ban of crypto services that rely on environmentally unsustainable consensus mechanisms, starting in January 2025. This provision was scrapped after backlash from the industry.

Nonetheless, a new draft includes a similar proposal. It says that crypto assets “shall be subject to minimum environmental sustainability standards with respect to their consensus mechanism used for validating transactions”, which refers to cryptos that use Proof of Work. In addition, cryptos that are energy intensive will have to “set up and maintain a phased rollout plan to ensure compliance with such requirements”. Ethereum plans to move from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake, but Bitcoin is unable to make this transition. Therefore, Bitcoin will be affected by this legislation. The vote is taking place at around 1pm UK time.

The crypto community has reacted swiftly to pressure legislators to oppose the proposal. Paris legislator Pierre said, “MEPs have taken a hard line on crypto-assets, thinking they are protecting citizens. In reality, this version is mortifying for our competitiveness while, at the same time, President Biden has signed an act calling for the US to fully embrace this new ecosystem.” I agree with Pierre, and if there is a majority vote in favour of the proposal I think the EU will leave opportunities to other countries who fully embrace the crypto revolution.





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Apple’s 30% tax rules will stay for now, crypto and NFTs may have to wait

Published

9 months ago

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August 10, 2023

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Crypto app developers hoping for a loosening of Apple’s App Store rules will have to wait longer after a United States Supreme Court held off on granting a request to let apps direct users to payments outside of Apple’s ecosystem.

An Aug. 9 decision from Justice Elena Kagan declined to let a federal appeals court decision take immediate effect as Epic had asked — with no explanation for the decision.

In April, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Apple violated California’s competition laws by not allowing apps to direct users to non-Apple linked payment solutions.

The ruling meant that developers such as Epic Games would be able to funnel  users to alternative payment methods, giving them an option that circumvents Apple’s 30% tax on in-app payments.

The 30% Apple tax has also been a hurdle for crypto firms, including those that want to offer iOS users the ability to purchase non-fungible tokens.

At the moment, there exists no means to buy an NFT on an app listed on Apple’s App Store other than through its in-app payments system, which charges a 30% commission rate and only allows purchases using fiat.

Apple’s guidelines don’t allow apps to take crypto to unlock app functionality or make in-app purchases using crypto.

This has led to most crypto apps offering only limited functionality, such as being able to view balances and assets only. Crypto exchange apps are unaffected.

Related: Lawmakers probe Apple’s App Store policies on blockchain, NFTs

Justice Kagan’s rejection of Epic’s request means Apple will get at least a few more months of reprieve from the ruling as it plans a Supreme Court appeal to the decision.

The Ninth Circuit ruling will come into effect if the Supreme Court refuses Apple’s appeal, however.

In its argument to lift the appeals court hold Epic claimed it applied a “lax legal standard” in granting the stay which would injure Epic and “innumerable consumers and other app developers for a significant period of time.”

Apple hit back saying the stay has been in place for two years already and doesn’t apply to Epic anyway. Apple booted Epic’s Fortnite off the App Store in August 2020 for attempting to workaround Apple’s in-app payments system.

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