From Nasdaq:

The European Parliament and EU Council have reached a provisional deal on new anti-money laundering rules for the crypto industry. The deal requires crypto firms to conduct customer due diligence on transactions of 1,000 euros or more. Despite political assurances, some in the industry feel that the new measures are more stringent than those for traditional financial institutions.

The European Union has agreed to enforce strict requirements for customer due diligence on crypto transactions. The regulations aim to level the playing field between crypto firms and banks. However, critics say that the thresholds for crypto asset service providers and other financial institutions are not equal, despite policymakers’ claims.

The EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) seeks to combat illicit fund flows and sanctions evasion, covering various sectors such as jewelry, luxury cars, and cash payments. The AMLR will establish a single rulebook for the EU and introduce a supervisory authority with oversight of the crypto sector.

There was heated debate over whether to include non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) in the AMLR. The industry has lobbied to keep NFTs and DeFi out of the package’s scope, and initial indications suggest that these assets will remain beyond the regulation’s reach.

The AMLR will subject crypto asset service providers to the same obligations as credit institutions, with equal requirements for both. While regulated entities will need to conduct customer due diligence on transactions above 10,000 euros, crypto firms and financial institutions must perform full customer checks on transactions above 1,000 euros, with additional KYC checks for occasional transactions.

Technical discussions on the AMLR will commence, with the aim of having the package ready for Parliamentary approval in April. The regulatory package will require formal adoption by Parliament and Council before taking effect.



Read more: Crypto Industry Cautiously Welcomes Agreement on New EU AML Rules