Webinar: "Defending Decentralisation: Why Bitcoin and Similar Assets Should Remain Out of Scope"

Is Bitcoin truly exempt from MiCA — or are we oversimplifying a complex legal question?

We hosted a live conversation with Jonathan Galea, Counsel at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, to explore one of the most debated questions under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

While some argue that decentralised assets like Bitcoin are exempt from MiCA’s white paper requirements due to the absence of an identifiable issuer, Jonathan challenges this view. He joined Juan Ignacio Ibañez, General Secretary of the MiCA Crypto Alliance, to unpack the legal grey areas around decentralisation, exemptions, and enforcement.

This was a focused and timely dialogue on what MiCA really demands from decentralised protocols, and what that means for platforms, investors, and regulators across the EU.

About Our Speakers

Jonathan Galea is a counsel in the London office of Cahill Gordon & Reindel (UK) LLP, where he focuses his practice on cryptocurrency regulation. He is one of the first crypto-native lawyers, with experience dating back to 2013. Jonathan also published a legal thesis in 2015 titled “The Effect of Bitcoin on Anti-Money Laundering Laws”, later founding a crypto regulatory consultancy serving exchanges, DeFi projects, and stablecoin issuers.

Juan Ignacio Ibañez is the General Secretary of the MiCA Crypto Alliance. With a background in supply chain transparency reporting and education in law and economics, Juan’s current research focuses on blockchain and sustainability, including carbon accounting, carbon markets, and renewable energy. He is the author of multiple scientific articles on blockchain carbon footprint and published the world’s first MiCA-compliant white paper in 2023. He is also a Research Associate at the UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies and a lecturer on blockchain at the Catholic University of Argentina.

Watch the full webinar here.