The European Banking Association (EBA) has called for more details regarding the European Union’s (EU) plan to impose tighter anti-money laundering (AML) controls on digital currency exchanges and custodial wallet services. The group, which counts more than 100 major banking institutions as members, offered comment yesterday on a prior proposal from the executive branch of the EU to bring exchange and wallet services under the Anti-Money Laundering Directive . Proponents say the move would end the perceived anonymity of purchases and transactions conducted using the technology. Still, critics have attacked the proposal by the European Commission as too onerous or redundant, as it would ultimately fall on services already subject to national regulation. The European Commission has been publicly exploring options since earlier this year . In comments, the EBA largely welcomed the European Commission’s recommendations, but said that overall the proposal falls short, and that provisions focused on data collection should be strengthened. The organization said: "…the Commission and co-legislators should ensure that competent authorities have the appropriate tools at their disposal to ensure the effective supervision of [custodial wallet providers] (CWPs) and [virtual currency exchange providers] (VCEPs) compliance with their AML/CFT obligations." Licensing vs registration The EBA also suggested that the European Commission should provide greater clarity on whether digital currency services ought to be supervised under a broader European Union licensure or registration scheme. The group said that this distinction should be drawn as EU member states are likely to "adopt very different regimes". In the EBA’s view, this would lead to a more complicated regulatory environment. "The EBA therefore considers that the EU Commission and co-legislators should take a decision whether either a licensing or a registration regime is most suitable and conducive to the aim of deterring terrorist financing across the EU or, should […]
