Crypto News
Hello all,
We’re here to inform you once again about news from the world of crypto. Following, you will find some of the important topics of the past week:
Fighting Money Laundry: EU Reinforces Rules for Crypto Transactions
The EU is taking more severe action against money laundry with crypto currencies. The EU countries and the European Parliament agreed to a law on tracking crypto transactions. Thus, crypto platforms will have to establish information on sender and receiver while processing transactions. How much money is transferred is of no concern. In any investigation on money laundry or terrorism, the providers have to forward this information to the relevant authorities.
The EU is focusing its measures against crypto laundry on the point of conversion from digital currencies to “conventional money.” Thus, direct transfers between owners of platform-independent crypto wallets are excluded. However, these would have been diffi cult to monitor to begin with. Furthermore, a special regulation regarding crypto platforms processing transactions with such independent wallets calls for the above information to be provided for transfers of 1,000 euros and more.
EU Member of Parliament Martin Schirdewan (Left Party) approved of the agreement. “As in traditional bank transfers, there has to be clear transparency who the actual sender and recipient of the crypto assets are,” he said. Nevertheless, he criticized the less stringent transparency requirements for independent wallets.
Frankfurt-based economist Prof. Philipp Sandner, one of Germany’s leading blockchain experts, on the other hand is relieved that the “hard demands of the European Parliament” have been weakened. This includes the identifi cation requirement only for sums above 1,000 euros. He considered this good news especially for fi rms active in the crypto area.
Before the EU law may offi cially come into force, the EU Parliament and the countries still have to formally approve it. Furthermore, negotiations are currently ongoing regarding other unifi ed regulations for the EU crypto currency market.
Higher Tax Exemptions, Less Bureaucracy: Capital Market Act with Crypto Signals
The German federal government is planning to render the local fi nance sector fi t for the future, among others with crypto and blockchain. On June 29, Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner and Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann presented the plan for a Future Financing Act. The joint proposal by both departments could also have positive effects on the German crypto sector.
The bundle of laws primarily plans to facilitate an easier access to the stock market both for private individuals and companies. “We want to turn Germany into the leading location for start-ups and growth companies,” FAZ quoted the federal minister of fi nance (https://www.faz.net/aktuell/finanzen/wird-deutschlands-finanzplan-so-attraktiver-18138382.html). Lindner believes the digital transformation of the economy as well as coping with climate change are only possible if sufficient private capital is available. The Future Financing Act is to be completed in the coming year, passing parliament and coming into force in 2023 as well. Central concern of the legal initiative is the digital transformation of the equity business. Lindner and Buschmann promised, for instance, an expansion of the Law on Digital Securities and a reduction of the required written documentation of securities transactions which has proven troublesome for digitalization. Consequently, the crypto sector is not excluded from these innovations. “In the fi rst half of the legislative period, the electronic securities law is to be extended to stocks. The legal framework for acquiring and transferring other crypto assets will be improved. Requirements for written form are to be reduced. Not only European negotiations concerning MiCA and the TFR but also these key points prove that, thanks to the FDP being part of the federal government, we can be leaders in Web 3 and exploiting the potential of blockchain,” Frank Schäffler, speaker for FinTech and blockchain innovations of the FDP party group in the federal parliament, tells BTC-Echo. The federal government is generally paying attention to the topic of crypto. Only a few weeks ago, a new regulation on crypto fund shares came into force, as we reported in a previous newsletter.
Bitcoin Dominance Dropping
Bitcoin has been a tad aimless over the last couple of weeks, fl uctuating between 19,000 $ and 21,900 $. However, its dominance continues to recede at 43.2 %. This development has had a positive effect on the prices of old coins. Bold investors have been using Bitcoin’s indecisiveness to increasingly invest in alternative coins. A closer look at the developments, though, shows many old coins only registering temporary price increases, most of which are sold off again. As long as Bitcoin cannot escape its horizontal trend with a sustained jump upward, sustainable targets for the overall sector remain unlikely.
Look forward to more exciting news from the world of crypto in the coming weeks.
Your Castello Coin Team