New EU Law To Force Anonymous Crypto Users To Reveal Identities

Bitcoin has seen a recent drop as a result of new in-the-works crypto legislation being passed by the EU. Though it is sometimes difficult to determine what exactly caused a given decline in Bitcoin’s price, the most recent reduction in price is most likely due to upcoming legislation, tweets and statements by the EU’s Commissioner for Financial Services, Mairead McGuinness, and the misunderstanding of tweets and statements thereof.

In considering this, it is really no wonder that Bitcoin has taken a hit as of recently; uncertainty, more often than not, can very well result in the demise of any currency and/or the financial institutions tied to it. The name of the game is transparency, and we can begin to promote transparency by understanding exactly what happened in regards to what has been mentioned above.

An Understanding: What Exactly Did Mairead McGuinness Say?

In a recent episode of tweets and statements released by Mairead McGuinness, Crypto has seen a decline and uncertainty ensues. Much of which stems from Congress’ stance on crypto, as McGuinness states in an article she wrote for The Hill, “Following Congress’s adoption of the much-welcomed Anti-Money Laundering Act at the start of this year, the EU is stepping up to the plate.” Elaborating on this, McGuinness says in a tweet that, “Money laundering lets criminals hide the illegal origin of their money – crimes that hurt our citizens. So we are getting tough on financial crime.”

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Speaking further, McGuinness elaborates on the theme of transparency, “Transparency is another vital element in the fight against money laundering. We need to know who ultimately owns or benefits from a company or trust — the so-called ‘beneficial owner.’” Though this is a point well-made, there is a fair bit of miscommunication.

Is This All A Misunderstanding? Clearing Up Crypto Confusion

As mentioned earlier, uncertainty comes at a cost. Varying arguments and interpretations have led to confusion and the decline of Bitcoin’s price as a result.

Bitcoin's Recent Decline As Of Late July | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

An article released by Independent warns of the “forceful” EU legislation in the works. Continuing on, Independent states, “Companies handling cryptocurrencies will now have to ask for a customer’s name, address, date of birth and account number, as well as the people receiving the digital funds.” This may come as a scare to many, but it is an effort to crackdown on crime. Yes, this legislation will affect those without criminal intentions, but other sources argue that it is not as bad as it seems.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Top And Bottom Metric Reaches Historically Oversold Level

Much of the contention concerns those with anonymous wallets, as not all anonymous users have criminal intent. Coindesk picks up on this in an article titled, “No, The European Union Is Not ‘Banning Anonymous Crypto Wallets.’” Interestingly, they make the claim that EU had, “woefully misrepresented the substance of the proposed regulation.” Elaborating, the legislation is really designed to crackdown on money service providers, not members of the general public.

Again, the main takeaway here is transparency: transparency from the media, governments, and members of the crypto community. The sooner this is accomplished, the better for all.

Featured image from iStockPhoto, Charts from TradingView.com