On March 19, the European Parliament approved a package of laws that establish new rules against money laundering in the European Union (EU) that affect the cryptocurrency sector in some way.
But, contrary to what has been said, they do not establish prohibitions For anonymous transactions with cryptocurrencies or self-custody wallets. This is reported by Patrick Hansen, director of EU strategy and policy for The Circlewho wrote a detailed formula In X to clarify the topic.
package he accepted andl parliamentAnti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regulations include the following measures:
- Regulations to create Anti-Money Laundering Authority.
- Regulation relating to compliance obligations against money laundering applicable to the private sector
- Instructions on Anti-Money Laundering Mechanism
- Review of Regulation on Transfer of Funds (TFR).
About this set of regulations, known as AMLR regulation, Hansen explains that this is a broad framework that applies to so-called “obligated entities” (EOs).
The above means that all financial institutions, including cryptocurrency exchanges (Crypto Asset Service Providers or CASPs) are obligated entities. Such as non-financial institutions such as football clubs or gambling services, which may be at risk of money laundering.
As a result, the regulations were approved with new laws. Apply only to EOObviously excluding hardware and software vendors and self-custody wallet providers Those that have no control over the cryptocurrency (like, for example, MetaMask).
In that sense, Hansen emphasizes that the platforms that are affected are CASP Regulated by the Regulation for Cryptoasset Markets (MiCA)Which must comply with standard KYC/AML procedures (Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering regulations).
“This is nothing new, as all crypto exchanges and custodial wallet providers in the EU are already subject to these obligations under applicable regulations,” the expert says.
What is prohibited in the new package of rules is the exchange of cryptocurrencies Provide services to anonymous users and manage privacy cryptocurrency. Something that has already been considered in MiCA.
With respect to transfers between CASP and self-custody wallets (AMLR Art. 31b), AMLR requires “risk mitigation” measures, including, for example, the use of blockchain analytics or additional data on the origin/destination of those cryptos. Contains a collection of. Properties.
Patrick Hansen in X
It is further clarified that the newly approved measures are already in line with the implementation in the Eurozone of the Fund Transfer Regulation and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Travel Rule.
This is a regulation that forces exchanges to share information about their customers. And although it has been highly questioned within the cryptocurrency ecosystem due to its implications for privacy, it has already been approved in MiCA before 2023.
So, what the new regulatory provisions do is largely confirm this. existing rules, “No fundamental new restrictions have been imposed on self-custody payments, wallets or peer-to-peer transfers,” Hansen reiterated.
However, as CriptoNoticias reported, the rules establish a ban on anonymous cash payments of more than 3,000 euros in commercial transactions and more than 10,000 euros in commercial transactions.
Therefore it is concluded that the regulation has been approved last week It has “extremely limited” impact In the cryptocurrency sector within the European Union.
