WHY WE NEED FREEDOMTECH EMBASSY IN BRUSSELS NOW
With many voices at
in #Amsterdam expressing very correct assessments of the discriminatory policy approach in the #EU against Bitcoin and now following the proposed by the European Central Bank analysts, I want to recall two important aspects:
🔴 First, well known: the #ECB states explicitly by saying their main goal is to “disincentivise investment in Bitcoin mining”. ECB frame it as "a climate risk priced into crypto-assets", in fact attacking PoW and Bitcoin mining. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/financial-stability-publications/macroprudential-bulletin/html/ecb.mpbu202207_3~d9614ea8e6.en.html
🔴Now for the lesser known, but most important to assess the risks of their latest so-called analyses - the EU's drafting of a regulation to expand the European Central Bank's supervisory powers over crypto-assets, which potentially gives the ECB endless power to attack #Bitcoin and implement its discriminatory regulatory proposals.
This information was re-confirmed in August 2024 by the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON). https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2024/755728/IPOL_STU(2024)755728_EN.pdf
🟡 From the ECON’s study we know that:
🔻 Since 2022, key topics discussed by the ECB with policymakers are (1) the ECB's banking supervision programme on the importance of the role of banks in the transition to a digitalised and carbon-neutral economy; (2) response for the emerging risks from the crypto sector and non-financial banking institutions; (3) the energy crisis;
🔻 ECB is increasingly consulted on future regulatory priorities, and on its stance regarding new legislation that is being negotiated with the Commission and the Council;
🔻 ECB response focusses on banks’ ESG risks which it considers a threat for banks and financial stability overall, therefore having made it a supervisory priority;
🔻 ECB mentions that it assesses, jointly with European Banking Authority (EBA), whether ESG risks should be reflected in regulatory capital requirements.
And these attacks continue and in parallel echo in developing Bitcoin mining ban in Norway, Iceland, discriminative taxation in Italy and Netherlands, classification self-hosted wallets p2p transactions as high risk transactions in the AML Regulation and by the biggest political groups in German Bundestag, development AML Authority supervision with particular focus on crowdfunding companies and crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), implementation of MiCA regulation by Denmark with attempt to classify mob apps like self-hosted wallets as “interface providers”, discussion of the categorisation of lighting as a “money transmitter”...
🟢What we can do together:
🔻Join Open Dialogue Foundation to establish a #FreedomTech embassy in Brussels. Let's bring together expertise and resources to develop a safe regulatory environment in the European Single Market for Bitcoin miners, investors, developers and end-users.
🔻Let’s systematically protect our FreedomTech and educate policymakers, media, academia. Let’s say loudly about wrong approach of ECB on Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining specifically.
The U.S. bitcoiners have made Bitcoin protection a reality and continue to do so. 💪🧡
We should and can do it in the EU as well.
