FinanceMagnates
– After more than a year of deliberation, the EU decided to outlaw
anonymous cryptocurrency transactions on Friday, according to a report
from Reuters.
Cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet providers will be required to
identify users. The European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and
Monetary Affairs said that the ruling must be converted to enforceable
law within EU member states within 18 months.
The discussion began in earnest in 2015 after 130 people were killed in a
major terrorist attack in Paris. Concerns regarding the financing of
terrorism became very immediate, and Bitcoin regulation was one of the
primary subjects of discussion after the event. The currency came under
suspicion because anonymous transactions were seen to have at least
partly helped the coordination of the attacks escape the notice of
security authorities.