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EU Policymakers Propose Tighter Regulation of Crypto Transfers

The European Commission made the proposal to help crack down on flows of illicit money.

European Union (EU) policymakers have proposed tightening regulations on the transfer of crypto assets by requiring companies to collect details of senders and recipients.

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  • The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, made the proposal Tuesday to help crack down on the flow of illicit money.
  • Such a law would extend to crypto the Financial Action Task Force's "travel rule" that already applies to wire transfers.
  • The aim of the legislation would be to "ensure full traceability of crypto-asset transfers" and "allow for prevention and detection of their possible use for money laundering and terrorism financing," the Commission said.
  • The travel rule requires service providers to exchange identifying information such as customer's name, address and account details.
  • Extending these requirements to crypto transfers would prohibit the use of anonymous crypto wallets.

Read more: US Crypto Giants Build First Version of FATF-Compliant ‘Travel Rule’ Tool

UPDATE (July 20, 15:31 UTC): Adds quote from commission, details of travel rule requirements.

Jamie Crawley

Jamie has been part of CoinDesk's news team since February 2021, focusing on breaking news, Bitcoin tech and protocols and crypto VC. He holds BTC, ETH and DOGE.

Jamie Crawley