Bottle Pay, a British crypto payment company that raised $2M just 2 months ago, has just announced it is shutting down.
According to a press release, the startup has decided to cease operations as a result of the EU's Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD), which will enter into force in January 2020.
According to the company, it will cease all its operations on December 31 at 13 GMT as it does not agree with the new regulation, which requires all crypto platforms to implement a strict KYC process.
The company states the requirements users must meet "would alter the current user experience so radically, and so negatively, that we are not willing to force this onto our community."
The startup, which prefers to follow its principles above all, has decided to stop offering its services to its users "in order to protect the interests of its team, investors and users."
The company started operating in June offering users an extension for browsers that allowed them to send small payments with bitcoin through social networks and messaging apps.
This new version of the EU anti-money laundering directive is significantly stricter than the previous one, as it forces all crypto-related companies to register with local authorities and authorize law enforcement agencies to access the addresses and identities of crypto owners.
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