The European Union plans to propose a new regulatory body to fight illicit usage of cryptocurrencies, Reuters has learned, citing EU documents. The move comes after several countries initiated investigation against Danske Bank, the largest bank in Denmark, over €200 billion of suspicious transactions between 2007 and 2015.
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"Money laundering, terrorist financing and organized crime remain significant problems which should be addressed at Union level," the document says.
In particular, the European Commission is proposing the so-called Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA). The body will reportedly contribute to preventing incidents of money laundering and terrorist financing in the EU.
At the same time, the EU strengthens regulation of the cryptocurrency market with new powers for the Bank of Spain and the National Securities Market Commission. A new draft of the EU's previously proposed regulation of the cryptocurrency market exempts non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from regulation.
The new rules are expected to take effect by the end of 2021 or early 2022. According to the draft, cryptocurrency issuers must be headquartered in an EU country and have permission from a mandatory supervisory authority.
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