Luxembourg, a small country in Western Europe, has initiated a market study on Web3 and blockchain-based firms. The study aims to explore the relationship between blockchain-based products and services and existing digital companies (Web2 firms). The regulator, Autorité de la Concurrence, recognizes the potential of blockchain technology in the future economy and wants to ensure that Web3 players can evolve in a competitive and well-functioning market.
The Market Study
This study is the first-of-its-kind probe into the economics of Web3 and blockchain technology. As with every competitive market study, the Autorité de la Concurrence will collect information from active companies in the blockchain and Web3 sector. The study will assess how blockchain-based startups and firms compete with existing Web2 companies and record potential anti-competitive practices implemented against Web3 projects.
The Competition Authority has appointed an associate professor of law at Amsterdam University, Thibaut Schrepel, as an external expert to assist in the market study. Schrepel is an expert in Antitrust law and innovation and has published a book titled: “Blockchain + Antitrust: The Decentralized Formula.” In a statement, Schrepel said, “To the best of my knowledge, it’s the first market study conducted by a regulatory agency whose goal is to protect Web3, not to attack it.”
MiCA and European Union
This development comes after the approval of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), set to take effect sometime in June 2023. According to reports, the MiCA laws will protect investors by increasing transparency and securing a comprehensive framework for digital asset issuers and service providers. It will also enforce compliance with anti-money laundering rules while preserving financial stability and fostering innovation and attractiveness of the crypto sector.
The European Union has been keen on fostering Web3 initiatives lately. In a recent development, the European Commission wants to launch a policy paper on the metaverse later in 2023. The soon-to-come policy will ensure healthy competition among companies in the metaverse, the EU’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, said in a statement. The EU wants to ensure that bigger companies, like META, do not swallow or suffocate smaller rivals.
Luxembourg’s Autorité de la Concurrence has launched a market study on Web3 and blockchain-based firms to ensure that Web3 players can evolve in a competitive and well-functioning market. This study is the first of its kind and will assess how blockchain-based startups and firms compete with existing Web2 companies. The MiCA laws will protect investors and enforce compliance with anti-money laundering rules while fostering innovation and attractiveness of the crypto sector. The European Commission wants to ensure healthy competition among companies in the metaverse to prevent bigger companies from suffocating smaller rivals.
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