EU Crypto community up in arms Following new Parliament Legislations

The EU crypto community has reached out against the EU Parliament committee voting in favor of a regulatory package for stricter know-your-customer and into-money laundering laws for “unhosted” private wallets.

The guidelines now require crypto service providers to verify the identity of every individual with an unhosted wallet, with transactions above 1,000 Euros ($1,100) needing to be reported to authorities.

According to Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, the guidelines draw comparisons with fiat to highlight the “absurdity” of reporting 1,000 euro crypto transactions.

“Imagine if the EU required your bank to report you to the authorities every time you paid your rent merely because the transaction was over 1,000 euros. Or if you sent money to your cousin to help with groceries, the EU required your bank to collect and verify private information about your cousin before allowing you to send the funds.”

“How could the bank even comply? The banks would push back. That’s what we are doing now,” he added

The Parliament’s proposal was part of the amendment to the Transfer of Funds Regulation voted through by the Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE).

To enact the new laws, the vote must be passed through the trialogue negotiations between the EU Parliament, European Council, and the European Commission. If the three bodies remain unopposed, the crypto industry will have 9-18 months to fully comply with the legislation.

The chairman and CEO of the digital wallet firm, Ledger, Pascal Gaunthier stated that the “EU Parliament chose fear over freedom.”

“A new regulation was just voted on that paves the way for a massive surveillance regime over Europe’s financial landscape.”

The European decentralized finance firm, Unstoppable Finance, expressed their hopes that the proposals will be shot down in the upcoming negotiations.

“The amendments are a huge setback for crypto in the EU & should be repealed in the trialogues,” the firm stated.

UF’s head of strategy and business development, Patrik Hansen, posted his concerns on social media, claiming that the proposals are a “big disappointment and a big threat to individual privacy.”

“It introduces unfeasible wallet verification requirements and unjustifiable reporting requirements for crypto companies that would have massively detrimental effects for EU citizens and companies alike.”

He added that it would be virtually impossible for crypto services to verify an “unhosted” counterpart and warned that staying compliant may cause some companies to cut off transactions with unhosted wallets altogether.

Source: Cointelegraph