Authorities in the European Union overturned an earlier rule that mandated setting a € 1000 limit to self-hosted crypto wallets to meet the anti-money laundering regulation.
The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and the Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs Committee of the European Union passed a regulation recently. The European Parliament and Council had also lent provisional support to the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation. According to the rules, self-hosted crypto wallets had to have limits up to €1000.
However, in a surprising move, lead committees in the EU have removed the above limit for the wallets. The limits under the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation also impacted businesses, which had to limit their transactions if they self-hosted their wallets. Authorities removed even that provision, along with identity checks on these wallets.
The official regulation also noted, “By 30 December 2024 the Commission will present a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the latest developments with respect to crypto-assets, including an assessment of the development of markets in unique and non-fungible crypto-assets.”
EU crypto asset service providers, who also witnessed new guidelines in January 2024, would have to perform due diligence. They would have to perform checks on users who implement business transactions above €1000.
Earlier, regulators drafted new measures for EU crypto firms to mitigate risks from money laundering and terrorism financing. Meanwhile, the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation will see full implementation by 2027 and will work alongside the MiCA. Both the European Council and Parliament would have to approve the regulation fully by then.
The limits on transactions and other rules had received criticism from lawmakers as well. German politician Patrick Breyer had published a press release on it. He is especially against the limits on cash transactions according to the regulation.
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