- The law places the crypto sector in the same legal category as banks, payment processors and gambling-related services.
- From now on, banks can’t simply stop providing services to cryptocurrency-related payment processors or companies without valid justifications.
In July 2018, the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) was officially signed into law and it came into effect on Jan 10, 2020. The law groups all virtual assets and their providers as “obliged entities.” Forbes writer Pawel Kuskowski says that this places the crypto sector in the same legal category as banks, payment processors, gaming, and gambling-related services.
The AMLD5 offers further support for crypto space. From now on, banks can’t simply stop providing services to cryptocurrency-related payment processors or companies without valid justifications. Because of this, millions of people can buy digital assets without the fear of getting red-flagged by their banks. The law also clarifies some of the issues crypto firms had with the new AML standards set by the Financial Action Task Force in 2019.
The European Union has been actively exploring cryptocurrencies and blockchain for quite some time now. According to BeInCrypto reports, the EU has held several workshops and established several committees to explore blockchain’s potential.
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