Latest news with #EUCI
Crypto Insight
2 days ago
- Business
- Crypto Insight
Europe gears up to regulate DeFi in 2026 as MiCA leaves sector in limbo
European lawmakers have yet to define 'decentralization,' even as regulators begin preparing for decentralized finance (DeFi) to become a key focus of crypto policy in 2026. The world's first comprehensive regulatory framework for the crypto industry, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), went into effect on Dec. 30, 2024. Among its aims are to boost investor protection, prevent fraud and address stablecoin reserve management. Still, as MiCA enters its final implementation phase, policymakers are shifting their attention to regulating DeFi, where many questions remain unresolved, according to Vyara Savova, senior policy lead at the European Crypto Initiative (EUCI). Speaking during Cointelegraph's Chain Reaction X Spaces show on June 4, Savova said DeFi protocols remain in regulatory limbo. The framework's implementation leaves ambiguity around DeFi protocols, as 'DeFi is theoretically outside the scope of MiCA,' Savova said, adding: 'No one actually knows what EU policymakers mean by DeFi.' Savova said that starting around mid-2026, authorities in the bloc will start interpreting how to legally define decentralization. The initial MiCA framework received significant criticism for its gaps regarding decentralized protocols, as it required DeFi platforms to adhere to the same licensing and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements as traditional financial services firms. However, a provision to the bill, Recital 22, mentioned that fully decentralized crypto-asset service providers 'should not fall within the scope of this Regulation.' MiCA 2 is not happening: EU crypto policy expert While MiCA's final implementation went live at the end of 2024, lawmakers are still conducting revisions every 12 to 18 months related to potential gaps in the regulation. Yet despite many previous calls from Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, the MiCA II framework will not be moving forward, according to Marina Markezic, executive director and co-founder of EUCI: 'You have probably heard about a potential MiCA II. It's not happening.' She added that ongoing discussions about stablecoins may result in targeted legislative updates rather than a full sequel to MiCA. The EU has yet to roll out new Anti-Money Laundering rules that restrict the use of private coins and anonymous crypto accounts. Those provisions are scheduled to take effect in 2027. Source:
Coin Geek
08-05-2025
- Business
- Coin Geek
EU law banning anonymous digital asset wallets by 2027, 'final'
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Digital asset advocacy group the European Crypto Initiative (EUCI) has published an AML Handbook to help firms 'stay compliant' with the European Union's (EU) impending new anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, which will ban so-called privacy coins and anonymous digital asset accounts from 2027. As noted by the EUCI, under Article 79 of the EU's new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR), 'credit institutions, financial institutions, and crypto-asset service providers are prohibited from maintaining anonymous accounts' or handling privacy-preserving digital assets, such as Monero (XMR) and Zcash. These rules are just part of the wide-ranging new AML package, Regulation 2024/1624, which the European Parliament introduced in April 2024, formally adopted a month later, and is set to come into force by July 1, 2027. The framework is intended to 'protect EU citizens and the EU's financial system against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.' Anti-anonymity The new regulation extends the AML rules to new 'obliged entities,' including crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). It also bans 'crypto-asset accounts allowing anonymization of transactions' and 'accounts using anonymity-enhancing coins.' 'Anonymity-enhancing coins', or privacy coins, are digital assets that use advanced cryptographic techniques and transaction obfuscation tools to make transactions untraceable and increase user anonymity. Under the EU's new rules, such coins will be banned in the bloc. New authority and tighter control To enforce these rules, another key element of the regulatory framework involves the creation of a new AML watchdog, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), which will directly supervise up to 40 CASPs across at least six EU countries. These companies must have either over 20,000 users or handle more than 50 million euros in annual transactions—criteria which aim to ensure that only companies with a significant operational presence in multiple jurisdictions are subject to direct supervision. The incoming regulations will also impose tighter controls on digital asset transfers to bring the sector more in line with traditional banking. Specifically, if the transaction is over 1,000 euros, the identity of the sender and receiver will need to be verified. Since the new rules were adopted by the European Council—the executive arm of the EU—last April, some CASPs operating in the bloc have been slowly accepting their fate, as evidenced by digital asset exchange Kraken delisting XMR in June 2024. However, many businesses have yet to comply with the new rules, perhaps hoping that they may be changed or adjusted before the 2027 implementation date. AML rules final After adopting the new AML regime, the job of implementation largely fell to the European Banking Authority (EBA)—the EU's top banking sector regulator—via the 'implementing and delegated acts', which can allow for a law to be updated 'to reflect developments in a particular sector or to ensure that it is implemented properly.' On March 6, 2025, the EBA launched a consultation on the AML package, suggesting that some new rules, such as those related to anonymous accounts and privacy coins, may be negotiable. However, the EUCI says the regulations are essentially 'final.' This is why the advocacy group put together its recently published AML manual to assist firms in preparing for the all-important 2027 date, and help them get their heads around the 'dense,' 'critical' rules. 'The regulations (the AMLR, AMLD and AMLAR) are final, and what remains is the 'fine print' — aka the interpretation of some of the requirements through the so-called implementing and delegated acts,' said Vyara Savova, senior policy lead at the EUCI. She added, 'The EUCI is still actively working on these level two acts by providing feedback to the public consultations, as some of the implementation details are yet to be finalized… However, the broader framework is final, so centralized crypto projects (CASPs under MiCA) need to keep it in mind when determining their internal processes and policies.' In other words, EU businesses—digital currencyor otherwise—have over two years to comply with the new AML regulation, including ditching privacy coins and anonymized wallets. Watch: Reggie Middleton on DeFi, booms/busts & crypto regulation title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen>
Gulf Insider
04-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Insider
European Union To Ban Anonymous Crypto & Privacy Tokens By 2027
The European Union is set to impose sweeping Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules that will ban privacy-preserving tokens and anonymous cryptocurrency accounts from 2027. Under the new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR), credit institutions, financial institutions and crypto asset service providers (CASPs) will be prohibited from maintaining anonymous accounts or handling privacy-preserving cryptocurrencies, such as Monero and Zcash. 'Article 79 of the AMLR establishes strict prohibitions on anonymous accounts […]. Credit institutions, financial institutions, and crypto-asset service providers are prohibited from maintaining anonymous accounts,' according to the AML Handbook, published by European Crypto Initiative (EUCI). The AML Handbook. Source: EUCI The regulation is part of a broader AML framework that includes bank and payment accounts, passbooks and safe-deposit boxes, 'crypto-asset accounts allowing anonymisation of transactions,' and 'accounts using anonymity-enhancing coins.' 'The regulations (the AMLR, AMLD and AMLAR) are final, and what remains is the 'fine print' — aka the interpretation of some of the requirements through the so-called implementing and delegated acts,' according to Vyara Savova, senior policy lead at the EUCI. She added that much of the implementation will come through so-called implementing and delegated acts, which are mostly handled by the European Banking Authority: 'This means that the EUCI is still actively working on these level two acts by providing feedback to the public consultations, as some of the implementation details are yet to be finalized.' 'However, the broader framework is final, so centralized crypto projects (CASPs under MiCA) need to keep it in mind when determining their internal processes and policies,' Savova said. Click here to read more… Source Zero Hedge
