EU lawmakers have voted in favor of imposing a €1,000 limit on crypto transactions where the customer cannot be identified. “Entities, such as banks, assets and crypto assets managers, real and virtual estate agents, and high-level professional football clubs, will be required to verify their customers’ identity, what they own and who controls the company,” the European Parliament emphasized.
Lawmakers Vote on New EU Regulation
On Tuesday, members of the European Parliament (MEP) from the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) and the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) adopted their position on three pieces of draft legislation on the financing provisions of EU Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) policy.
One of the three was the “single rulebook” regulation, which aims to harmonize financial regulation across the EU. It was adopted with 99 votes to 8 and 6 abstentions, according to an announcement by the European Parliament. This regulation contains “provisions on conducting due diligence on customers, transparency of beneficial owners and the use of anonymous instruments, such as crypto-assets, and new entities, such as crowdfunding platforms,” the announcement describes.
“According to the adopted texts, entities, such as banks, assets and crypto assets managers, real and virtual estate agents and high-level professional football clubs, will be required to verify their customers’ identity, what they own and who controls the company,” the European Parliament detailed, adding:
To restrict transactions in cash and crypto assets, MEPs want to cap payments that can be accepted by persons providing goods or services. They set limits up to €7,000 for cash payments and €1,000 [$1,084] for crypto-asset transfers, where the customer cannot be identified.
European Parliament Member Aurore Lalucq explained on Twitter that new legislation specifically affects cryptocurrency trading platforms and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
She stressed that NFTs, which were not included in the new Market in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCA), will now be subject to anti-money laundering rules, and NFT platforms must now comply with these legal obligations. Lalucq added that the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) will be able to establish a list of risky platforms based outside the EU.
Moreover, due diligence procedures will be put in place for transactions made with unhosted wallets, she said, emphasizing that purchases over €1,000 will only be authorized if the owner or beneficiary can be identified. Furthermore, the lawmaker noted that relationships with unregistered or unlicensed platforms and entities will be prohibited and AMLA will establish a list of these entities.
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