The European Parliament voted to ban all anonymous cryptocurrency transfers, including the leading crypto Bitcoin (BTC) and the meme coin Shiba Inu (SHIB). However, the draft has not yet become law and the process will continue for a few more months.
Anonymous transfers of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies prohibited
Majority of MPs from Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Left in the European Parliament (GUE/NGL), Green Party and Renewal Party are anonymous supported the ban on transfers. The European People’s Party (EPP) and the Identity and Democracy Party (ID) objected to the draft.
The amendment applies funds transfer regulations (TFR) to the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies industry to prevent payment systems from being used for money laundering. Since the draft does not specify any lower limit for cryptocurrency transfers, it means that all transactions will be subject to identity checks. As such, crypto firms will be obligated to collect and disclose personally identifiable information about parties involved in a transaction.
As we have mentioned in our previous news by Kriptokoin.com, the European Parliament’s plan to restrict anonymous wallets was revealed last week and received widespread criticism in the crypto money industry.
Cryptoworld reacts to regulation
Cryptocurrency advocates claim that this regulation would violate privacy and lead to wider surveillance. They insist that the change will hurt those who rely on (self-hosted) self-hosted wallets like Ledger or Trezor. Some see this as a ban on anonymity in crypto. Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino called it “a big step back for human rights”.
However, the regulation has not been enacted yet. The draft will now enter trial negotiations with representatives of the European Parliament (EP), the European Commission and the Council of the European Union. According to experts, the process will take several months.
It will still be possible to amend the draft before it becomes law, according to Patrick Hansen, head of growth and strategy at decentralized finance (DeFi) startup Unstoppable Finance. Therefore, the cryptocurrency community can still work to repeal the changes.
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