EU proposes extending AML standards to NFT platforms

Members of the European Parliament say that the decentralized finance sector, including NFT platforms, should fall under the EU’s anti-money laundering laws. This follows from the proposed поправок to the legislation.

Amendments were introduced by representatives of the European Green Party and the Socialists. They note that decentralized organizations or DeFi platforms should fall under AML/CFT-procedures ‘regardless of whether they are identified as DAO or DeFi’:

“Developers, owners or operators must assess the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing before launch and take appropriate measures to mitigate these risks.”

They also proposed including wallets that are not managed by any regulated service provider.

The changes could also affect NFT platforms acting as intermediaries for asset trading, “which are evidence of ownership of artworks or collectibles”.

The authors of the amendments argue that such platforms also fall under EU anti-money laundering legislation.

Additionally, Financial Times reports that the European Central Bank (ECB) is concerned about the development of regulation for the industry by individual countries ahead of EU-wide rules on the crypto-asset market.

According to sources, the ECB intends to discuss with euro-area member states the need to harmonise the approach to regulating crypto assets.

Earlier, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament preliminarily agreed on the provisions of the cryptocurrency regulation bill MiCA. It describes the rules applicable to issuers of unbacked crypto assets, stablecoins, trading and custodial platforms.

The document does not cover NFTs. Over the next 18 months, the European Commission may add corresponding provisions.

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