14 DAY TRIAL // The European Commission has put forward an action plan meant to end the anonymity of crypto-currency transfers for all Bitcoin exchanges and online wallet services operating in Europe.
Legally, the EU plans to do this by updating its Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD) to specifically mention virtual currencies in its text and dismiss the uncertainty surrounding this new-age currency format.
EU officials say this is necessary in order to thwart terrorist groups, who have used the anonymity around Bitcoin transactions to move funds across borders without getting detected.
EU is using the ISIS threat to de-anonymize Bitcoin transactions
Last year, after the Paris terror attacks on November 13, GhostSec, a group of white hat hackers said they discovered that ISIS members had Bitcoin wallets that contained about $3 million / €2.83 million in funds.
This statement proved to be wrong, as Europol published a report saying that they didn't find any evidence of ISIS members using Bitcoin to finance their operations. This hasn't stopped the EU from moving ahead with its plans.
By bringing virtual currency exchange platforms under the scope of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive, the EU will have the legal power to force these companies to comply with existing regulation regarding customer due diligence, which means tracking their identity and income source.
Pre-paid cards will no longer be anonymous either
Besides Bitcoin transactions, the European Commission is also planning to remove the shroud of anonymity from pre-paid cards as well, intending to widen customer verification requirements, something that Romania has already been thinking of doing.
"We want to improve the oversight of the many financial means used by terrorists, from cash and cultural artefacts to virtual currencies and anonymous pre-paid cards, while avoiding unnecessary obstacles to the functioning of payments and financial markets for ordinary, law-abiding citizens," said Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, in charge of the Euro and Social Dialogue Commission.
Bitcoin users will surely not be happy about this AMLD amendment proposal, since anonymity was one of Bitcoin's most appealing features.