• The European Parliament has passed a new law targeting crypto users with unverified identities, imposing a limit of €1000 on their transactions.
• The new law is part of the EU’s plan to revamp its anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and restrict businesses from accepting large payments from anonymous sources.
• French lawmaker Damien Carême clarified that the law is not meant to ban crypto payments but rather to target money laundering.
EU Parliament Passes Law Restricting Crypto Payments
The European Parliament and other lawmakers have recently voted on a new measure concerning anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorist financing regulation. This includes an imposed limit of €1000 for crypto users with unverified identities, alongside restrictions on businesses accepting large payments from anonymous sources.
Limits Imposed On Unverified Crypto Users
According to the press release accompanying the announcement, entities such as banks, asset and crypto asset managers, real and virtual estate agents and professional football clubs will be required to verify their customers’ identity and control who owns what. Additionally, they must establish detailed types of risk related to money laundering and terrorist financing activity in their sector and transmit relevant information to a central register.
In addition to the imposed €1000 limit for unverified cryptocurrency users, the EU parliament has also pressed a €7000 limit on cash payments for similar transactions. These limits are intended as part of the EU’s plan to revamp its AML regulations.
French Lawmaker Clarifies Intent Of The Law
Damien Carême, the French lawmaker leading parliament’s negotiations on revamping its AML regulations, clarified that this law is not meant to ban crypto payments but rather target money laundering; as the limit cap only applies to unregulated wallets and unverified users.
Anti-Money Laundering Regulations Revamped
The new measures taken by the EU parliament are aimed at preventing money laundering or anonymously holding and transacting digital assets by imposing limits on those with unverified identities when dealing in cryptocurrency or cash transactions over certain amounts. This is all part of an effort by Europe’s government regulators to create stricter rules around cryptocurrency usage within its borders.
Conclusion
The new laws passed by European lawmakers are focused primarily on targeting money laundering through cryptocurrencies rather than attempting an outright ban on them altogether; however it does impose some restrictions for those using digital currencies without verifying their identity first which may affect many regular users across Europe.