The European Union has taken a significant step forward to becoming a global leader in the emerging field of Web3 technology. On Tuesday, U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) noted that the European Union's advancement in this field puts it ahead of the United States.

On April 19th, the European Parliament approved the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA). This regulation seeks to provide a licensing regime for wallet providers, exchanges and stablecoins—all of which are expected to be compliant by 2024. In the United States, similar initiatives have failed to make it through the political process.

This has brought attention to the fact that major jurisdictions in Europe, such as the U.K., are taking a more proactive approach to promote clarity in a space that has been largely unregulated and chaotic, prompting McHenry to express his concern over America being left behind. He believes that this should “send chills up the spine of Americans” as economic growth is reliant upon such technological involvement.

Unfortunately, this has caused many crypto players to remain in legal limbo as much of the legislation that McHenry had proposed has hit a roadblock, primarily due to unlikely allies from opposing political parties. He requested that the Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler take a clear and unambiguous stance on whether or not cryptocurrency assets such as Ether should be classified as a regulated security within the U.S., a statement is yet to be made.

The EU has seen such growth in this industry as a beacon of hope to further regain investor confidence. This is following a crash that took place due to the crumbling of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange.

In acknowledgment of the progress made, U.K.’s lawmaker Lisa Cameron touted MiCA as a “significant positive step” and a “useful blueprint” which can be implemented by other leading jurisdictions in order to provide global protection in the crypto space.

It certainly appears that the European Union is making waves to become a leader in Web3 technology and the U.S. is quickly running out of time to join the fray. As technology continues to be a major asset to both economic growth and investor trust, it would be unwise for the U.S. to remain complacent in this quickly-evolving industry. McHenry has already made strides in attempting to make the United States a frontrunner in this class, however, it remains to be seen if his efforts will be successful enough to prevent them from falling behind.



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