it is better to die fighting for freedom

than be a prisoner all the days of your life.

- Bob

There are many draconial provisions in the upcoming #EU #AML Regulation both for cash and to p2p #bitcoin transactions (self-hosted wallets and use of mixers).

Some examples:

(33b) The introduction of a Union-wide limit to large cash payment mitigates the risks associated with the use of large cash payments. However, obliged entities that carry out transactions in cash below this amount remain vulnerable to risks of money laundering and terrorist financing as they provide a point of entry into the Union’s financial system. Therefore, it is necessary to require the application of customer due diligence measures to mitigate the risks of misuse of cash. To ensure that the measures are proportionate with the risks posed by transactions of a value lower than EUR 10 000, such measures should be limited to the identification and verification of the customer and the beneficial owner when carrying out occasional transactions in cash of at least EUR 3 000. This provision does not relieve the obliged entity from conducting all customer due diligence measures whenever there is a suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing, or from reporting suspicious transactions to the FIU.

(93) The anonymity of crypto-assets exposes them to risks of misuse for criminal purposes. Anonymous crypto-asset ▌accounts as well as other anonymising instruments, do not allow the traceability of crypto-asset transfers, whilst also making it difficult to identify linked transactions that may raise suspicion or to apply to adequate level of customer due diligence. In order to ensure effective application of AML/CFT requirements to crypto-assets, it is necessary to prohibit the provision and the custody of anonymous crypto-asset ▌accounts or accounts allowing for the anonymisation or the increased obfuscation of transactions by crypto-asset service providers, including through anonymity-enhancing coins. The prohibition does not apply to providers of hardware and software or providers of self-hosted wallets insofar as they do not possess access to or control over those crypto-assets wallets.

As we were said by the EU Commission, “the ban on crypto-asset payments not intermediated by a crypto-asset service provider has not been retained given the absence of technical means of enforcing such a requirement at present”. But that exactly shows the direction of the regulatory approach.

This is a huge deterioration of financial and privacy rights after EU Commission and Council put pressure on the EU Parliament and removed all provisions in favor for individual rights, privacy and financial inclusion.

We need your support guys, before it is too late. Final vote on April 22nd.

Full text you can find here:

I’ve seen so many other publications cover this today, but each additional one is a fresh delight.

“After four years, we find ourselves in a strange position. We still do not know precisely what unfolded in mid-March 2020: who made what decisions, when, and why. There has been no serious attempt at any high level to provide a clear accounting much less assign blame.”

I sincerely hope the next RHR is entitled "The Bank Runs Continue."

Nigerian Authorities Blame Binance for 70% Naira Devaluation, Move to Issue Arrest Warrant Against CEO

“Binance platform harbours people who fix the exchange rate which quickly affects the Nigerian economy for the time when Nigeria is trying to stabilize the economy. The platform fixes the exchange rate for the country and it is an illegal rate. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the only authority that can fix the exchange rate for the country.”