European Commission Proposes New Legislative Package to Ensure Full Crypto Traceability

The European Commission introduced some legislative proposals on Tuesday to strengthen the European Union’s (EU) anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism (AML/CFT) rules. One part of the new proposal that stood out was the revision of the 2015 Regulation on Transfer of Funds “to trace transfers of crypto-assets.”

The Commission explained that the proposal considers “new and emerging challenges linked to technological innovation,” including “virtual currencies, more integrated financial flows in the Single Market and the global nature of terrorist organizations.”

At the center of the proposed legislation is the formulation of a new “EU-level Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA).” It will be “the central authority coordinating national authorities to ensure the private sector correctly and consistently applies EU rules.”

As mentioned earlier, the proposal includes “full application of the EU AML/CFT rules to the crypto sector.” The regulatory body noted that presently, only a specific group of crypto service providers fall under the purview of the EU AML/CFT rules. The legislative proposal extended its recommendation to the entire sector, “obliging all service providers to conduct due diligence on their customers.” The European Commission argued that:

“Today’s amendments will ensure full traceability of crypto-asset transfers, such as bitcoin, and will allow for prevention and detection of their possible use for money laundering or terrorism financing.”

European Commission to Restrict Anonymous Crypto Wallets

The proposal also noted that with the application of full EU AML/CFT rules to the crypto industry:

“Anonymous crypto asset wallets will be prohibited.”

The organization added that “anonymous bank accounts already [are] prohibited by EU AML/CFT rules.”

That said, the legislative proposal has gotten ascended and will get discussed in the European Parliament and Council. The Commission concluded its announcement noting that:

“The future AML Authority should be operational in 2024 and will start its work of direct supervision slightly later, once the Directive has [gotten] transposed and the new regulatory framework starts to apply.”

 

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