Impending European Regulation: Who’s Affected and What You Can Do

“We see that crypto-assets are here to stay. Despite the recent turbulence, this market continues to grow.”

- Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice President of the European Commission, September 2018

As evidence of the E.U.’s confidence in crypto-assets or digital assets, the E.U. has continued to improve classification of crypto assets and determine if existing financial regulation can be applied or if new rules need to be developed.

On the other hand, according to Interpol, criminals used cryptocurrency to launder as much as $5.5B in 2017 in Europe.

“Money launderers have evolved to use cryptocurrencies in their operations and are increasingly facilitated by new developments…”

- Europol 2018

The E.U.’s recognition that crypto-assets are here to stay as well as concerns over illicit transactions involving crypto-assets have paved the way to EU’s 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD). The deadline for all EU member states to implement its provisions into their national law is January 10, 2020. Under this directive, fiat-to-cryptocurrency exchanges and custodian wallet providers, will, for the first time, need to comply with EU anti-money laundering rules. The U.S. and other parts of the world are likely to follow…