Companies carrying bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies will have to retain information of the sender and recipient in order to help authorities crack down on illegal and dirty money, EU policymakers suggested.
The new law proposed by the European Commission aims to detect suspicious transactions and activities, something that always surrounds encryption due to the anonymity of digital wallets.
The legislation focuses on a new central authority, the anti-money laundering authority, which will establish a single integrated oversight system in the 27 countries.
“This will ensure the full traceability of cryptocurrency transfers, such as Bitcoin, and will enable the prevention and detection of their potential use for money laundering or terrorist financing,” the commission said in a statement. “Anonymous wallets of encrypted assets are prohibited,” it added.
The Commission has also set a limit of 10.000 euros in large cash payments to make it more difficult to launder large sums of money.
Companies that manage cryptocurrencies will now have to ask for a customer’s name, address, date of birth and account number. People receiving the digital money will also be asked to give out several personal information.
The European Parliament and the EU states will have to approve the proposals, which means that they may take up to two years for them to become law.
