EU wants to know all Bitcoin transactions

On March 31, two committees in the European Parliament removed the requirement that digital currency transactions require a minimum of five fields of information.

Previously, under a proposal first put forward last year by the EU’s European Executive Committee, cryptocurrency exchanges would have to store and report information about people trading cryptocurrencies. The commission has proposed applying this regulation to money transfers of 1,000 euros ($1,116) or more.

But under the new decision, the minimum rule is removed, meaning that all translations will need to be recorded with the operator’s information.

Ernest Urtasun, a lawmaker from the Spanish Green Party, said the regulation makes it easier to identify and report suspicious transactions, supports a digital asset freeze and discourages high risk transactions.

According to him, the exemption for low-value remittance transactions is not appropriate, as users can circumvent the regulation by dividing the amount into multiple transactions. In addition, small transactions may also be associated with certain types of crimes. The removal of the EU draft minimum is also said to be in line with global anti-money laundering regulations.

The EU’s legislatively responsible committees have also agreed to new regulations for the management of individual digital wallets. Along with that, they agreed on a list of digital asset service providers with high risk or non-compliance.

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal believes that traditional cash, not digital currency, is the most common way to hide financial crimes. According to the exchange, the new regulations will stifle innovation.

Session An (according to Reuters)