European Parliament Rethinks Wording On Controversial Crypto Money Laundering Bill

European Parliament officials will meet on March 28 to vote on the wording of an anti-money laundering bill.

The digital assets industry had expressed concerns about the bill, prompting policymakers to return to the original phrasing regarding commercial payments, The Block reported.

One provision of the bill, added by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), was intended to limit the value of transactions merchants can accept unless the cryptocurrency wallet owner is fully identified.

An earlier version of the regulation stipulated that only transfers exceeding the equivalent of €1,000 (US$1,090) from EU-licensed cryptocurrency service providers would be permitted — a point of contention for the European digital assets industry.

The industry's concerns centered around the departure from existing regulatory frameworks and the potential hindrance of DeFi innovation.

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The updated bill caps cash transactions at €7,000 for commercial payments, while maintaining a €1,000 limit for cryptocurrency transactions involving self-hosted wallets.

Exceptions to the €7,000 cash cap are permitted for person-to-person payments, barring transactions involving real estate, luxury items, or deposits into financial institutions.

The revised draft stipulates that transaction caps apply to self-hosted addresses only if the "customer or beneficial owner of such self-hosted addresses can be identified."

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MEPs have included a directive for the European Commission to re-evaluate the rule on commercial payments in three years, in order to align with regulations such as the European Union's digital identity framework and the recently proposed Anti-Money Laundering Authority's requirements.

The bill's text is anticipated to be approved by a vote in the Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, which supervised the negotiations.

Following this, the bill must pass a plenary vote before entering inter-institutional discussions, which could provide an opportunity to revisit commercial cryptocurrency payment requirements.

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