The European Parliament wants to identify the owners of cryptocurrencies

The EU proposed amendments to the law on money laundering to allow for the addition of cryptocurrency holders into a special database which law enforcement agencies will be able to access. Now,...

The EU proposed amendments to the law on money laundering to allow for the addition of cryptocurrency holders into a special database which law enforcement agencies will be able to access.

Now, cryptoexchanges and exchangers will need to collect more information about customers and will require confirmation of identity when dealing with cryptocurrencies. Services will now have to report suspicious activity to the authorities.

Among the items that deputies of the European Parliament are concerned about are: money laundering, tax evasion, and the financing of terrorism.

The authorities of many countries see a potential threat in anonymous payments and are developing methods for regulating and recording activities related to cryptocurrencies.

The European Parliament decided to create a special group to study the impact of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

An active discussion of the amendments aimed at regulating cryptocurrencies began after the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015. In the discussion, great attention was paid to the anonymity of cryptocurrency exchangers.

Europol did not find evidence that terrorists used Bitcoin to finance their activities. However, cryptocurrencies such as Monero, which aims for full preservation of anonymity, are becoming more and more popular for illegal transactions. The developers of this coin will soon add the functionality of multi-signature which is likely to attract even more users who do not want to disclose their identity.

Another step towards legalizing cryptocurrencies was the commencement of trade in Bitcoin futures. In order to trade in futures, participants must confirm that they have sufficient funds to buy back the asset.