EU Parliament Just Voted To Impose KYC On Private Crypto Wallets

The crypto space was shaken the other day by the latest vote that took place in the EU Parliament. The EU Parliament voted to impose new regulatory measures that would essentially prohibit anonymous crypto transactions.

Decrypt online magazine notes that the vote was first reported by CoinDesk, and soon after confirmed to Decrypt by Valeria Cusseddu, advisor to the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

“The ECON and LIBE committees voted to approve a proposal that would require cryptocurrency service providers, such as exchanges, to collect personally identifiable information from individuals who transact more than 1,000 euros using so-called unhosted cryptocurrency wallets,” according to the same online publication mentioned above.

Though votes on several amendments were tight, the final draft was overwhelmingly approved.

Brian Armstrong, CEO of U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase, tweeted that the proposal is “anti-innovation, anti-privacy, and anti-law enforcement.” He argued that it holds cryptocurrency to a different standard than fiat.

5/ Moreover, any time you receive 1,000 euros or more in crypto from a self-hosted wallet, Coinbase will be required to report you to the authorities. This applies even if there is no indication of suspicious activity.

— Brian Armstrong – barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 30, 2022

He continued and said:

7/ Or if you sent money to your cousin to help with groceries, the EU required your bank to collect and verify private information about your cousin before allowing you to send the funds. How could the bank even comply? The banks would push back. That’s what we are doing now.

— Brian Armstrong – barmstrong.eth (@brian_armstrong) March 30, 2022

Armstrong also said the following: “This eviscerates all of the EU’s work to be a global leader in privacy law and policy. It also disproportionately punishes crypto holders and erodes their individual rights in deeply concerning ways. It’s bad policy. ”

Stay tuned for more news.