The Central Bank of Ireland will extend the scope of the anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime to the cryptocurrency industry from April, according to Irish Independent.
\n
\n
New rules will place companies dealing with digital assets on an equal footing with traditional financial-services providers. Registration with the regulator and comprehensive customer checks will become mandatory.
\n
The new requirements align with the European Union’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD).
\n
Josh Hogan, co-chair of Ireland’s fintech and payments association, wrote in Business Post that the country has the opportunity to become a leading jurisdiction for creating a regulated cryptocurrency business.
\n
\”Ultimately this will bring real commercial benefits in terms of jobs, business revenues and taxes,\” Hogan said.
\n
In August 2020, authorities in Ireland proposed tightening regulation of digital assets.
\n
Directive 5AMLD EU obliges national registers to disclose the beneficial owners of companies registered in EU member states and prohibits financial institutions from servicing anonymous accounts.
\n
Earlier, Austria’s financial regulator urged stricter regulation of the cryptocurrency industry amid rising fraud activity.
\n
Follow ForkLog news on Facebook!