Dutch Central Bank Gives Deadline for Crypto Firms to Register By May 18 or Face Action
The Dutch Central Bank is taking some bold measures off-lately to legitimize the operations of crypto companies operating in the country. In a quick-action-step, the Dutch Central Bank - De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) - that is will soon enforce the new Dutch anti-money laundering (AML) laws passed by the Dutch parliament last month.
These new laws are in line with the standards set by the Financial Action Task Force and comply with the European Union’s AML directives. Last month, on April 21, the Dutch Upper House cleared the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD4) laws which makes it mandatory for all crypto firms to register with the central bank.
The DNB central bank has given a two-week deadline by May 18, with immediate cease-and-desist order who fails to comply. This deadline is only applicable for those who are offering crypto-to-fiat services or other crypto custodial services. Note that companies operating in the crypto-to-crypto space are exempted from registration.
However, the surprising this is that to enforce this decision, the central bank is citing AMLD4 laws instead of the recent AMLD5. With the AMLD5, the Dutch crypto firms have lashed heavy criticism over the lawmakers calling them as very burdensome to the industry on a larger scale.
The crypto firms allege that the Ministry of Finance and the DNB have squeezed small companies and forced them to close their operations. The official press release from the DNB banks states: “The Ministry of Finance aims to bring the law into effect on May 18, 2020. We request that you apply for registration with DNB as soon as possible. If you do this before May 18, you can use a transitional arrangement”.
The transitional arrangement means that companies who draft their registration applications before the implementation date will have them converted automatically into formal ones.
On the other hand, the Dutch Central Bank has also shown its interest to lead the development of Digital Euro. The Dutch Central Bank recently released a report to all other member EU countries showing the benefits of Digital Euro and how it can help to reduce friction of payments while making transactions faster and cheaper.
It is highly likely that we can see some new development in the Dutch crypto industry. The recent Coronavirus pandemic has changed the face of the global economy and countries that adapt to new market innovations will lead their way in the next decade.