Crypto Traders In The European Union Face Yet Another Regulatory Scrutiny
According to the Bloomberg report on Wednesday, August 29, the European politicians have initiated a fresh round of scrutiny on cryptocurrencies traders/investors as well as the exchange platforms.
Finance ministers from all the 28-member states of the European Union will discuss a range of emerging challenges posed by the growing popularity of digital assets, and whether some additional measures are required to tackle the crypto craze. This includes issues like a general lack of transparency and coordination and the use of digital currencies for illicit activities of tax evasion, money laundering, and terror financing.
The meeting is scheduled to take place next week on September 7, in Vienna, Austria. The Austrian government, that presides the EU’s rotating presidency currently, has refused to make any further comments in this regard.
Earlier this year, the EU regulators had issued a warning to crypto investors calling digital currencies as “highly risky” assets. Just when the crypto market was at its peak in January 2018, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESA) expressed serious concern on the number of participants getting involved with digital assets.
The agency said: "The ESA warn consumers that VCs (virtual currencies) are highly risky and unregulated products and are unsuitable as investment, savings or retirement planning products.”
The EU regulators also warned that the EU laws currently don’t offer any protection to investors on their crypto investments. However, an EU report released last week shows that don’t pose any risks to the central banking institutions. The EU said that the crypto market is still in its novice stage and except for trading the use of digital currencies is still very limited.
However, the executive arm of EU - the European Commission - said that it will be constantly monitoring the developments in the crypto space and will take action if required.
However, the European Commission has expressed confidence on the cryptocurrency’s underlying blockchain technology. The agency has also asked state members of the European Union to embrace the blockchain technology going further.
In April 2018, 22 EU member states signed the European Blockchain Partnership saying that it “will be a vehicle for cooperation amongst Member States to exchange experience and expertise in technical and regulatory fields and prepare for the launch of EU-wide blockchain applications across the Digital Single Market for the benefit of the public and private sectors.”
Apart from EU, regulators from around the globe like the U.S. and some Asian countries have been seen having a strict vigilance on the operations of cryptocurrencies while trying to make sure that they are not used for any illicit activity.