The European Union Approves Stringent Anti-Money Laundering Legislation, Prohibiting Anonymous Cryptocurrency Payments to Custodial Wallets
The European Parliament has approved strict new anti-money laundering laws: anonymous cash payments over €3,000 will be prohibited in commercial transactions, cash payments over €10,000 will be completely banned, and anonymous encrypted payments to custodial wallets will also be banned, even for small amounts.
The new anti-money laundering legislation restricts cash transactions and anonymous encrypted cryptocurrency payments. According to the new regulations:
– Anonymous cash payments over €3,000 will be prohibited in commercial transactions.
– Cash payments over €10,000 will be completely banned in commercial transactions.
– Anonymous encrypted payments to custodial wallets will be prohibited, even for small amounts.
This ban specifically applies to custodial wallets provided by third-party service providers, such as centralized exchanges.
Patrick Breyer, a member of the European Parliament from the Piratenpartei Deutschland (Pirate Party Germany), expressed his opposition to the new legislation. He believes that banning anonymous payments may have minimal impact on crime, but it will deprive innocent citizens of their financial freedom. He argues that if every payment is permanently recorded and stored, it will create risks such as hacking attacks, unauthorized investigations, and government surveillance of every purchase and donation.
Breyer believes that a method needs to be found to bring the best features of cash into the digital future. People should have the right to make online payments and donations with encrypted currencies without their payment activities being recorded without reason. Compared to completely anonymous cash, cryptocurrency transactions can be tracked through blockchain, especially Bitcoin.
This legislation is expected to be fully implemented within three years of its entry into force.
