MiCA's Antitrust Concerns : The Potential Impact of Protecting Banks' Interests on Innovation and Growth in Europe

The European market has been served by regulated and licensed e-money tokens (EMTs) since 2019, contradicting the claim that legal clarity is needed for EMTs. Despite the well-functioning e-money legislation, the EU Parliament will vote on a new regulation specifically for EMTs as part of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) proposal. This paper compares the current e-money legislation with the proposed MiCA regulation for EMTs. We argue that the MiCA proposal weakens the current legislation by fragmentation, increases financial instability, and appears to prioritize banks' interests over fostering innovation and growth in the EU. Protecting banks' interests may hinder innovation, limit opportunities for positive societal impact, and raise antitrust questions