EU to create a single cryptocurrency regulator

The authorities of the European Union will create a new regulatory body AMLA, tasked with direct supervision of crypto businesses. This is stated in the EU’s sixth directive on anti-money laundering (AMLD6), The Block.

The European Commission представила the corresponding bill on July 20, 2022. Earlier, its version опубликовал European Council.

The European Parliament will consider AMLD6 after the August recess. As soon as the latter approves its version of the bill, the three bodies will enter the so-called trilogue for final agreement of its provisions.

The publication argues that creating AMLA, which sits at the centre of AMLD6, would cause the fewest disagreements. Its implementation, including staffing, will take years.

In the versions by the European Council and the European Commission, the Money Laundering Authority will directly oversee, at least, “high-risk” crypto firms.

«The EU-level agency will have powers of direct supervision over certain financial institutions and indirect supervision/coordination of other similar bodies. It will also play a coordinating role in regulating the non-financial sector», — The Block explained.

The emergence of a supranational body would be a major step forward for the EU, the publication notes. Earlier AMLDs, particularly the fourth and fifth from 2015 and 2018, set standards for member states to collect and provide certain data, such as information on beneficial ownership of corporations.

The registries formed are a good example of fragmented regulatory acts. Even among countries providing free access to corporate information, data vary greatly.

Such opacity, in particular, allowed Binance for several years to tell potential clients that Maltese regulators had approved it to provide cryptocurrency services.

AMLD5 established that member states should treat crypto exchanges as financial institutions. The decision was left to the member states. General reporting requirements did not form the basis for creating a single regulator.

Earlier this July, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament preliminarily согласовали положения законопроекта о регулировании криптовалют MiCA. It describes rules that apply to issuers of unsecured crypto assets, stablecoins, trading and custody platforms.

Later, members of the European Green Party and the Socialist party proposed extending AML/CFT standards to decentralized organizations, DeFi platforms and NFT platforms.

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