The European Parliament has backed a move to bring closer regulation to cryptocurrencies.
The parliament's members voted by a large majority on Thursday to support a December 2017 agreement with the European Council for measures aimed, in part, to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies in money laundering and terrorism financing.
The parliament members passed the move by 574 yes votes to 13 no votes, with 60 abstentions, according to a release.
The new legislation seeks to address the anonymity of the financial technology by implementing rules for cryptocurrency exchanges, platforms and wallet providers.
According to the release, the updated directive will come into force three days after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Member countries of the EU will have 18 months to bring the new rules into national law.
The European Council's December consensus agreement also proposed a range of new EU-wide penalties for those convicted of money laundering.
The measure marked "An important milestone in the fight against organised crime at a European level," a rapporteur said at the time.
European Parliament building image via Shutterstock.
CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.
EU Parliament Votes for Closer Regulation of Cryptocurrencies
gepubliceerd op Apr 20, 2018
by Coindesk | gepubliceerd op Coinage
Coinage
Recent nieuws
Alles zien
Blockchain Bites: Bitcoin's Run, Uniswap's Hemorrhaging Value, Anchorage's Banking Bid
Bitcoin is nearing all-time highs in price and market cap last set three years ago.
Japan's megabanks to lead experiment with digital yen
We have, in order, Cheese Bank with a $3.3 million theft, Akropolis with its $2 million loss, Value DeFi with a whopping $6 million exploit and finally Origin Protocol's loss of $7 million.
Number of new Bitcoin addresses spikes amid growing FOMO
Japan's three largest banks, as part of a group of 30 private sector actors, are set to collaborate on an experiment with a digital yen.
Not just Wall Street: Quant trader explains why Bitcoin price is going up
Sam Trabucco, a quantitative trader at Alameda Research, believes four general factors are pushing up the price of Bitcoin.