EU Surveillance Regime for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency In The Making After Committees Voted
On Thursday, The EU Committees on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) voted to extend anti-money laundering requirements that currently apply to fiat payments over EUR 1,000 ($1,115) to the cryptocurrency sector, but with an ‘unfair’ addition.
In what is a de-facto surveillance regime for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions, existing rules are expanded for Bitcoin and crypto payments, with one big difference, without a floor in place. This means that transactions of ANY size will require identification.
The new rules would apply to wallets whose private keys are held by the funds’ owner, the so called self-hosted or self-custody wallets.
Paolo Ardoino, Chief Technology Offier of Bitfinex, immediately went to Twitter, warning his followers of the unjust measures and implications if the bill is turned into law.
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Disappointed to see the proposal on self hosted wallets passed today and hope the final vote on the report will take into consideration security risks and privacy violations that will transpire if enacted into law.— Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) March 31, 2022
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The proposal voted on today will still require the approval of the parliament and the EU Council to pass into law.
While Coinbase’ Chief Legal Officer already posted an article about the matter on the company blog on Monday, Brian Armstrong, the co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, shared his concerns on Twitter a day prior to the vote.
1/ On 31 March, the EU Parliament will vote on its proposal for a new crypto surveillance regime. The proposal is anti-innovation, anti-privacy, and anti-law enforcement. Make your voice heard and contact your member here: https://t.co/b3Ll3xXiW4
— Brian Armstrong – barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 30, 2022
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Source: igaming
