The European Union lately has been a hotbed for political and regulatory developments that could have a considerable impact on the day-to-day operations of the continent’s financial service providers. While the United Kingdom finally following through on its pledge to leave the bloc introduced political uncertainty for businesses with U.K. operations, implementation of new EU-wide Anti-Money Laundering legislation brought about regulatory certainty — along with the compliance burden that invariably comes with it. On another note, European financial authorities are increasingly vocal about their intentions to create a new regulatory framework for digital assets that would balance robust security measures …

The deputy director of the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) says the cryptocurrency sector must not abet a “slide backward” in money laundering prevention. FinCEN deputy director Jamal El-Hindi made his remarks during a speech at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association 20th Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Financial Crimes Conference in New York City on Feb. 6. FinCEN won’t allow AML oversight to “slide backward” El-Hindi opened his speech noting the particular complexity of the securities and futures industry, which comprises a dense web of transactions and interactions between inter-related parties. This “amazingly complex” landscape includes but …

Popular Bitcoin (BTC) exchange platform LocalBitcoins is allegedly suspending user accounts with little fanfare, citing an “enhanced due diligence process.” Finland-based LocalBitcoins, one of major global peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchanges, has reportedly suspended user accounts in some countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia without warning, with some users being unable to withdraw their Bitcoin, Forbes reports Jan. 25. LocalBitcoins gave no public statement on the matter when the first reports came about a week ago According to the report, the first complaints started coming in last week, with LocalBitcoins users in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Syria, and …

Ukrainian authorities will be able to “block crypto wallets” in order to seize illegally obtained assets, a notice on the country’s Ministry of Finance says. Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s Finance Minister, reportedly said that the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine (SFMS) will be the responsible authority for tracking the sources of origin of the funds on citizens’ crypto wallets. Authorities use an analytical product scanning for the crypto funds’ origins and uses As part of the regulatory policy, the SFMS will be able to not only find out the origin of crypto, but also detect how those funds have been …

Deribit, a crypto futures and options exchange that is moving from the Netherlands to Panama to avoid Europe’s new Anti-Money Laundering law has released its newly updated Know Your Customer (KYC) policy. In a Jan. 17 blog post, Deribit clearly said that its relocation to Panama has been mainly caused by the new Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD), a major European law that aims to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing by stricter regulation of crypto-related businesses. While 5AMLD was enforced on Jan. 10, 2010, 5AMLD has not been adopted in the Netherlands to date, but is still expected to come …

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is now the United Kingdom's sole Anti-Money Laundering (AML) authority for the crypto business. After a decade of compliance under a laissez-faire approach to AML legislation, U.K.-based crypto firms now face a significantly more stringent set of rules. With the FCA thrashing U.K. crypto regulation into shape, the consequences upon start-ups, user privacy and adoption will likely be wide-reaching. In its early stages, decentralized finance (DeFi) has uncovered a bounty of possibilities within the economic sector. From borderless banking to using blockchain technology, DeFi is leading a comprehensive coup d'état against an entrenched financial industry. …

Following the session that took place last August, a three-judge panel from India’s Supreme Court reconvened once again this week to discuss the much-hyped Crypto v. RBI case. During the last hearing, the Supreme Court had asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to clarify its position as to why exactly it enforced a nationwide banking ban on the country’s crypto market, as well as to discuss the seemingly unconstitutional nature of its aforementioned move. Ever since the RBI decided to go ahead and issue its controversial prohibition order, a number of public and industry-led petitions have been filed by …

On Jan. 10, the European Union’s 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD), was officially signed into law. The legislation will give sweeping powers to compliance organizations and law authorities. However, aside from tracking dirty money to offshore paradises, the law brings about a series of restrictive demands on crypto companies in a way never seen before. This development cuts into the notion that, in the past, the world’s richest people comfortably diverted money across borders through a financial framework that operates firmly in a legal grey area, which has long lingered in the public consciousness. Until 2016, it seemed as if …

Binance and Huobi have together received over 52% of total $2.8 billion illicit Bitcoin (BTC) transfers in 2019, according to a new report. Chainalysis’ findings Over the course of 2019, criminal entities moved a total of $2.8 billion in Bitcoin to cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a Jan. 15 study from Chainalysis. According to the New York-based firm, Binance and Huobi, two of the world’s largest crypto exchanges to date, have received 27.6% and 24.7% of total transfers from criminals in 2019. As such, the two major crypto trading platforms are allegedly responsible for acquiring over a half of all illicit …

Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit is leaving the European Union for Panama to avoid new AML rules while changing its Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. Deribit B.V., the current Netherlands-based company responsible for the Deribit.com exchange, will officially delegate the trading platform to its daughter company, DRB Panama Inc. on Feb. 10, 2020, a Jan. 9 statement from Deribit said. Changing regulatory winds Deribit has decided to transfer to Panama based on the stated likelihood of tightening regulatory demands in the Netherlands, resulting from similar demands seen across the EU, the Deribit statement noted. These requirements, known as 5AMLD, pertain to …

The right to privacy is a fundamental prerequisite for peace of mind and security. The idea that only criminals have something to hide is strange. Contrarily, privacy is sought by almost everyone. Yet, it still gets stigmatized as suspicious — reserved solely for criminals or deviants. Similarly sharing this unjust scrutiny are cryptocurrencies, which are — rather ironically — branded as a tool for felons, based largely on their anonymous hallmarks. However, no cryptocurrency is as disparaged for this discreet quality more than the privacy coin. But just what are privacy coins used for? How has crypto criminality changed in …

Disappointment isn’t always a bad thing. It can be a spur, motivating one to work harder to meet expectations and goals. It is in this spirit that Cointelegraph informally surveyed members of the crypto community about this past year’s unfulfilled industry promises. Here are some of 2019’s biggest disappointments: Adoption missing? Where are the giant blockchain or crypto projects — enterprises that seize the imagination, rivet the public’s attention, and quiet the crypto skeptics? As Nouriel Roubini noted last year, “[Blockchain] still has only one application: cryptocurrencies.” Many in the industry are still waiting. As Lanre Sarumi, CEO of crypto …