TL;DR Breakdown
- Members of E.U’s Parliament back the introduction of laws against crypto anonymity
- The crypto world kicks against this development.
Lawmakers of the European Union have voted in support of new laws which aims at stripping crypto traders of their anonymity across Europe. On Wednesday, with 93 votes to 14 votes – and 14 recorded absentees, members of the European Union’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) backed the new amendments to the Transfer of Funds Regulations.
While the anonymous nature of the cryptocurrency space has served as an attractive feature to many of its users, it – alongside the volatility of the tokens – is a source of concern to world governments. Some countries have outrightly banned cryptocurrency use; however, others have resorted to regulations, some stricter than others.
During the plenary session, members of the Europen Union Parliament stated concerns about the probability of the digital asset’s high volatility exerting a negative effect on the current financial stability and also its anonymity which aids criminal activities
The new regulations will require crypto exchanges to collect and submit information about the parties involved in every cryptocurrency transaction.”That would make it easier to identify and report suspicious transactions, freeze digital assets, and discourage high-risk transactions” Ernest Urtasu, a Spanish Green Lawmaker, said in favour of the bill
The proposed amendments would mandate the recording of transactions by “un-hosted wallets” with appropriate authorities being notified of any transaction involving more a €1000 or more
Key Figures In The Crypto Space Condemns Move By European Union
It is worth noting that after the complete drafting of the bill on Monday, Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, had stated fears of the newly proposed amendments -as of then- bringing about an era of strict surveillance that can end innovations within the crypto space.
Following yesterday’s developments, Brian Armstrong, the company’s CEO via Twitter laid out heavy criticisms on the European Union. ” This eviscerates all of the E.U’s work to be a global leader in privacy law and policy. It also disproportionately punishes crypto holders and erodes their individual rights in deeply concerning ways. It’s bad policy.” he said.
Patrick Hansen, Head of Strategy at Unstoppable Finance criticized the policy also stating government institutions will be “personal data honeypots” and targets of cyberattacks.
These amendments remain yet to be ratified and assented into law as the European Union Council -made up of the national ministers- is set to deliberate next week on the bill.
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