Crypto-assets: final vote on new rules for tracing transfers in the EU
MEPs are set to endorse the first EU rules to ensure the traceability of crypto-asset transfers, to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other crimes.
The legislation, provisionally agreed by Parliament and Council negotiators in June 2022, aims to ensure that crypto transfers, as is the case with any other financial operation, can always be traced and suspicious transactions blocked. The so-called “travel rule”, already present in traditional finance, will in future cover transfers of crypto assets. This rule requires that information on the source of the asset and its beneficiary travels with the transaction and is stored on both sides of the transfer.
The rules would also cover transactions above €1000 from so-called un-hosted wallets (a crypto-asset wallet address of a private user) when they interact with hosted wallets managed by crypto-assets service providers.
Uniform EU market rules for crypto-assets
Plenary is also expected to give its final green light to new common rules on the supervision, consumer protection and environmental safeguards of crypto-assets, including crypto-currencies. The rules –agreed informally with the Council in June 2022- include safeguards against market manipulation and financial crime. To reduce the high carbon footprint of crypto-currencies, significant service providers will have to disclose their energy consumption.
Procedure Code: 2021/0241 (COD) and 2020/0265 (COD)
Procedure: ordinary legislative procedure, 1st reading agreement
Debates: Wednesday, 19 April (markets in crypto assets, MiCA and crypto-asset transfers)
Vote: Thursday 20 April (markets in crypto assets, MiCA and crypto-asset transfers)