Estonian revised draft law focused on cryptocurrencies is not applied to customers, but to cryptocurrency business who "conducts activities for or on behalf of natural or legal person as a permanent business," Estonian Ministry of Finance clarified in a recent update.
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According to a press release, the legislation does not contain any measures to ban customers from owning and trading cryptocurrencies neither requires customers to share their private keys to wallets. However, accounts opened with Estonian cryptocurrency business (wallets, crypto exchanges and so on) cannot be anonymous and local business cannot offer anonymous accounts or wallets, the watchdog emphasized.
"The measures are analogous to rules that apply to transactions facilitated by banks and payment service providers, since virtual assets are also used first and foremost for value transfers," the regulatory body wrote in the press release.
The local authorities also increased capital requirements for opening cryptocurrency-related business. From now on, startups will be required to have a minimum of €125,000 or €350,000 euros of share capital, depending on the type of service offered, increased from the current floor of €12,000. The regulator claims the measure will "reduce the risk of registering or keeping dormant" cryptocurrency business for resale.
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