In an effort to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing, European Union (EU) lawmakers have endorsed a new legislative proposal that would limit anonymous crypto asset transfers to one thousand euros.
According to a statement released by the European Parliament on March 28, the limit would apply to the transfer of crypto assets when a customer cannot be identified. In addition, cash transactions will be limited to 7,000 euros ($7,585).
The AML/CTF package will be approved in April during a plenary session. It was stated that negotiations on the final form of the bills would then commence.
The laws will eventually be enforced by the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), which will be established in June 2022.
Emil Radev, co-rapporteur for the AMLA, emphasized the importance of the new body cooperating closely with national supervisors and directly supervising the riskiest crypto asset service providers and financial companies operating in multiple member states.
The language regarding the use of anonymous instruments, including crypto assets, was adopted by a large majority of legislators — “99 to 8 with 6 abstentions.”
According to the recently accepted texts, the implementation of the bill will necessitate a higher level of openness and compliance, especially from crypto-asset managers. It stated:
“Entities, such as banks, assets and crypto assets managers, real and virtual estate agents and high-level professional football clubs, will be required to verify their customers’ identity, what they own and who controls the company.”
In addition, it was emphasized that these industries will need to identify the dangers associated with money laundering and terrorism funding in their respective business sectors and send this information to a central registry.
The European Banking Federation (EBF) presented a document on March 28 outlining its vision for the future digital money ecosystem and the retail digital euro in particular.
The EBF proposed a three-tiered plan for the digital euro, including a role for the European Central Bank and two industry levels, the first of which would interface with the single Euro Payments Area and the second of which would be developed and controlled by the private sector.
The final vote on the European Union’s crypto laws, known as the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation, has been postponed until April 2023.
This is not the first time that European legislators have rescheduled the procedure, as it was originally delayed from November 2022 to February 2023.
