Europe Approves New Crypto Regulations to Combat Money Laundering
The European Parliament has passed new regulations to enforce due diligence obligations on cryptocurrency companies, targeting money laundering activities.
These laws mandate improved customer identity verification and suspicious activity reporting for crypto asset managers and service providers.
The regulations, approved on April 24, particularly impact centralized crypto exchanges under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation and extend to entities like gambling services.
MiCA, introduced in June 2023, is a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets and their markets, set to be fully enforceable by year-end.
Supervision of the new rules will fall under the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA), headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany.
While awaiting formal adoption by the Council of the EU and publication in the EU Official Journal, Patrick Hansen, EU strategy and policy director at Circle, anticipates its impact.
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Hansen highlighted the standard Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) procedures required for crypto asset service providers (CASPs), emphasizing that these obligations align with existing legislation for EU-based exchanges and custodial wallet providers.
He lauded the final version of the regulations as a positive outcome for the crypto sector, citing collaborative industry efforts that led to a more flexible and risk-based approach.
Notably, earlier iterations of the laws proposed stricter measures, including KYC for self-custody originators and beneficiaries.
Alexander Stefanov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alex is an experienced finance journalist and a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast. With over five years of experience covering the industry, he deeply understands the complex and constantly evolving world of digital assets. His insightful and thought-provoking articles provide readers with a clear picture of the latest developments and trends in the market. His passionate approach allows him to break down complex ideas into accessible and insightful content. Follow up on his content to be up to date with the most important trends and topics - stay ahead of the curve with CoinsPress.
