European lawmakers impose €1,000 limit on unverified crypto users

While the European government is still working on its regulatory approach to cryptocurrency regulation, part of the body, which is the legislators, earlier today published a new rule targeting crypto users with unverified identities.

The law that was just passed was not only aimed at crypto specifically, but at money laundering or the anonymous holding and transaction of digital assets. The announcement stated “new EU measures against money laundering and terrorist financing”.

Restrictions imposed on unverified crypto users

According to a press release, the European Parliament and other lawmakers in the Economic and Civil Liberties Committees voted on March 28 on new anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorist financing measures. Included in the new law was an imposed limit of €1,000 for crypto users with unverified identities.

The press release noted:

Entities, such as banks, asset and crypto-asset managers, real estate and virtual real estate brokers, and high-level professional football clubs, will be required to verify their customers’ identities, what they own and who controls the company. They will also have to establish detailed types of risk for money laundering and terrorist financing in their business sector, and transfer relevant information to a central register.

In addition to the imposed limit of $100, the EU Parliament also pushed for €7,000 on cash payments for transactions in the same category of unverified crypto users. These limits are part of the EU’s plan to renew the AML regulations.

The limits come alongside measures restricting businesses from accepting large payments from anonymous sources.

According to Damien Carême, the French lawmaker leading parliament’s negotiations to renew its AML regulations, the law is not to ban crypto payments, but to target money laundering as the cap only applies to unregulated wallets and unverified users. Carême noted:

We absolutely do not prevent crypto transactions. It is only when identification is not possible.

The EU Parliament launches a new agency for combating money laundering

With 99 lawmakers voting in favor of the new plan and six abstentions, the EU created a new European Union Anti-Money Laundering Agency (AMLA), which is authorized supervisory and investigative authority “to ensure compliance with AML/CFT requirements.”

AMLA is responsible for monitoring risks and threats within and outside the EU. The agency will also be used to directly supervise some specific credit and financial institutions and classify them according to their level of risk.

According to the report, MEPs want to give AMLA the power to mediate between national financial supervisors as well as resolve disputes. AMLA will also receive complaints from whistleblowers and ensure stronger supervision of the supervisions in the non-financial sector.

Speaking of finance, the global cryptocurrency market has remained calm despite the US financial sector suffering a crisis in recent weeks. Over the past 24 hours, the global crypto market has increased by 1.5% to $1.188 trillion at the time of writing.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView