EU is thinking of ending anonymous Bitcoin selling

The European Commission wants cryptocurrency transactions to stop being anonymous. The legislative changes she proposes say that the cryptocurrency sector will be covered by anti-money laundering regulations.

This means, among other things, that anonymous cryptocurrency wallets will be prohibited. The proposed legislative changes may enter into force in two years.

Currently, only certain categories of crypto-asset service providers fall under the scope of the EU's anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing rules. In the proposed reform, these provisions would cover the entire cryptocurrency sector, obliging all service providers to apply due diligence requirements to their clients.

The changes announced on 21.07.2021 will ensure full traceability of crypto-asset transfers, such as bitcoin, and prevent their possible use for money laundering and terrorist financing, and facilitate the detection of such cases," says the European Commission communication.

"Cryptocurrencies are one of the newer ways to launder money,"

says Mairead McGuinness, the EU's financial stability commissioner.

Are cryptocurrencies really used for money laundering on a large scale? The estimates of the research company Chainalysis show that $ 2 billion was laundered on the cryptocurrency market in 2020, which is a small sum compared to, for example, bitcoin's capitalization, which was nearly $ 580 billion on Wednesday afternoon.

‍

‍