Mairead McGuinness (born 12 May 1959) is an Irish politician currently serving as the First Vice-President of the European Parliament. She previously served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Ireland from 2004 to 2019, and was re-elected in 2019.
McGuinness has long been involved with cryptocurrency issues in her role as a MEP, including advocating for improved regulation of digital currencies and blockchain technology. In 2017, she was part of a cross-party group in the European Parliament that called for better rules on initial coin offerings (ICOs). Additionally, she has spoken out against cryptocurrencies being used to facilitate money laundering or terrorist financing activities.
In 2018, McGuinness launched CoinWatch EU – an initiative designed to make it easier for consumers to access reliable information about cryptocurrency investments and ICOs. The platform provides users with ratings on different cryptocurrencies based on their risk assessment criteria such as liquidity levels, transparency, governance structures and financial stability metrics.
McGuinness’ work in this area is widely respected by both industry experts and regulators alike; indeed she recently received praise from French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire when speaking at the OECD Blockchain Conference held earlier this year: “I want to thank all those who have worked hard over these past few months — particularly Ms McGuinness — so that we can now look forward to having clear rules governing virtual assets.”
