Financial Regulator of France Wants to Ban Privacy Coins

With global regulators closely observing the trends in the crypto space, the head of Finance Committee at France’s National Assembly is willing to put a ban on privacy tokens or anonymous crypto coins.

Eric Woerth, the head of Finance Committee presents his stand on digital currencies and the blockchain technology in a recently published report. Showing his tough stand on digital currencies providing anonymity, Woerth said: We must be aware of the problems that [cryptocurrencies] can pose in terms of fraud, tax evasion, money laundering or fraud, or energy consumption”.

He further added: It would also have been appropriate to propose a ban on the dissemination and trade in [cryptocurrencies built] to ensure complete anonymity by preventing any identification procedure by design…This is the case for a certain number of [cryptocurrencies] (Monero, PIVX, DeepOnion, Zcash…) whose purpose is to bypass any possibility of identifying the holders. To date, regulation has not gone that far.”

Woerth also pushed for structured regulatory approach with the ability to discern different cryptocurrencies. He said: The distinction between the different uses of [cryptocurrencies] must continue, to establish a finer and more precise regulation protector of the general interest, as well as the private interest of the entrepreneurs of this domain”.

Just like the French regulators, Japanese regulators had raised similar questions on the functionality of anonymous cryptocurrencies like Dash (DASH) and Monero. The Japanese regulator Financial Services Agency (FSA) said: “It should be seriously discussed as to whether any registered cryptocurrency exchange should be allowed to use such currencies”.

Over the last year, France has initiated several measures to streamline and create a structured framework for the use of digital currencies. The latest report, however, doesn’t put a clear picture that to what extent the committee is proposing to put a ban on cryptocurrencies.

The problem with privacy coins is that they are the most preferred choice for criminals to transfer value across the globe.