MEPs from ECON and the Committee on Civil Liberties have voted to adopt their position on draft crypto legislation which forms part of the EU’s wider package of measures aimed at strengthening AML/CFT rules in the EU. The European Parliament intends to vote on the draft legislation at its plenary session in April.
The adopted text includes:
- Traceability of transfers of cryptoassets – under the new requirements, all transfers of cryptoassets will have to include information on the source of the asset and its beneficiary, with the aim being to ensure crypto transfers can be traced and suspicious transactions blocked. However, this requirement won’t apply to person-to-person transfers conducted without a provider, such as bitcoin trading platforms, or among providers acting on their own behalf;
- No minimum thresholds – the MEPs have decided to remove minimum thresholds and exemptions for low-value transfers; and
- Public register of high-risk entities – the MEPs want the EBA to create a public register of businesses and services involved in cryptoassets that may have a high risk of money laundering, terrorist financing and other criminal activities. This will include a non-exhaustive list of non-compliant providers.