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Ireland is set to draft cryptocurrency legislation as a matter of priority to ensure the country is compliant with European Union laws on anti-money laundering and terror financing.
With an upcoming deadline of December 30 looming, Ireland’s Finance Minister Jack Chambers has warned of the importance of ensuring crypto guidelines are updated before the EU laws take effect.
As reported by the Irish Examiner, no specific details were given on what the legislation would entail or when it would be applied in Ireland, but swift action is likely.
Earlier this year, the Irish police force seized around €6.5 million (just over $7m) of crypto following a lengthy probe into ‘darknet markets’ and money laundering. In a similar incident last month, the German government shut down 47 crypto exchanges, accusing them of being used for criminal purposes.
Adoption of the EU’s “Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act” will give Irish authorities greater powers to suspend transactions, increasing the reach of financial intelligence units.
The legislation will mean more stringent controls on crypto exchanges and a €10,000 limit on cash payments. Large transactions will require greater scrutiny as well as new reporting requirements for high-value transfers.
The new framework to be introduced at the end of the year will complement existing laws, including Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
Preventing abuse of the financial system
Last month, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Derville Rowland, stressed the country would use MiCA as its template to keep pace with safety innovation. In the evolving space of new technologies, Rowland noted the necessity of crypto legislation to ensure European nations remain at the forefront of its development.
Ireland’s Central Bank had approved 15 virtual asset service providers, as of July. These vendors include Gemini, Ripple, Paysafe, MoonPay, and Coinbase, which have all agreed to sideline and de-list non-compliant stablecoins from their European markets.
A spokesperson for the Central Bank underlined the imperative for Ireland to be “an active participant in preventing its financial system from being used for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes.”Image credit: Via Ideogram
