EU institutes ESA and ECB clear the way for cryptocurrencies as legal tender (CC BY-SA 2.0)

April 1st, Brussels - The four European Supervisory Authorities ESA, EBA, EIOPA and ESMA and the ECB addressed the citizens of the European Union in a written communication. This letter explains to the population the opportunities that cryptocurrency trading entails and the possibility of trading cryptocurrencies. It is argued that cryptocurrencies, which are more secure, more democratic and more liberal through a decentralized structure, should therefore also be legally considered as a means of payment. An EU-wide regulation will be provided as soon as possible, so that investors and consumers are legally secured. The ESA recommends thoroughly researching the investment product and taking precautions for safekeeping before becoming actively involved.

In a first step, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESA) would like to release Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and the 3rd generation currency Skycoin (SKY) as legal tender and investment product. The ESAs are institutions responsible for the rules of European financial markets, launched in 2011 as a response to the global financial crisis.

March 31st, Brussels - ECB chief Mario Draghi, talking about cryptocurrencies and blockchain (CC BY-SA 2.0)

“The blockchain technology behind the cryptocurrencies is very promising, enabling, for example transactions to be completed in seconds and invoices settled quickly and automatically as soon as they are received. The EU must take a global leadership position here.”

The expressed desire to integrate cryptocurrencies can be seen as a further step towards a more general European regulatory framework. For example, the finance ministers and central bankers of Germany and France last week wrote a letter with specific demands for the regulation of cryptocurrencies to the G20 presidency in Argentina. Germany and France have always been considered the engines of European integration and have the power to advance large-scale collaborative projects.