EU Slaps Surveillance Dragnet on Every Crypto Transaction in New AML Crackdown

Eurogroup President drops the hammer—privacy coins and DeFi brace for impact.

The Panopticon Goes Blockchain

Brussels isn’t asking permission. New rules will force exchanges, wallets, and possibly even miners to log every digital asset move across the 27-nation bloc. ’Anonymity is not negotiable,’ growled one EU finance minister—before voting yes.

Crypto’s Compliance Paradox

Privacy advocates scream overreach, while TradFi players smirk. ’Finally playing by banking rules,’ huffs a Goldman Sachs memo that somehow leaked to reporters. Meanwhile, Bitcoiners whisper about VPNs and decentralized alternatives.

The Irony Department

Funny how AML always means more surveillance—except for the actual money launderers using $100 bills in luxury real estate. Your move, Satoshi.

Well folks, the era of anonymous crypto transactions in Europe is on its final countdown.

Speaking at the European Anti-Financial Crime Summit 2025 in Dublin, Eurogroup President and Ireland’s Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe laid out the EU’s plans to ramp up transparency across crypto transactions. Regulators are coming for the black box of crypto. 

So what exactly is changing and how DEEP does this go? Let’s break it down.

Donohoe revealed that the EU is working on a legislative “reclass of performance transfer mechanisms,” which WOULD extend traditional finance-style oversight to crypto asset service providers (CASPs).

“Specifically, to record data on the senders and recipients of funds, [so it] now applies to crypto asset service providers,” Donohoe said during his keynote. The push, he emphasized, is about expanding regulatory scope to “deal with crypto transparency issues.”

You know they’re being serious because it’s the latest MOVE in a years-long strategy to tighten the EU’s grip on crypto – and if you’ve been watching closely, you’ll know this has been building for a while. 

Regulators want to dive headfirst into the blockchain pool, armed with the full weight of the AML agenda.

The AML Package: No Room for Anonymity!

The EU’s AML Authority (AMLA) is being positioned as the central force to enforce the new rules. Donohoe called it a “landmark development,” stressing that “closer cooperation and coordination is absolutely critical.”

And the changes go beyond today’s announcements.

Under the AMLR framework – officially passed in 2023 – crypto firms will be barred from interacting with anonymous wallets and privacy-focused coins like Monero ($XMR) and Zcash ($ZEC). These restrictions will take full effect by.

In fact, regulators plan to block IP addresses of non-compliant decentralized exchanges, marking one of the most aggressive regulatory crackdowns the crypto space has seen yet.

DeFi’s Dilemma

Critics are not staying quiet about this. Unity Wallet COO James Toledano warned that while these rules mimic traditional banking, they don’t fit well with crypto’s decentralized structure. 

 He added, “They can and will be easily circumvented as self-custodial crypto is truly global.”

Still, the EU isn’t backing down. Transparency is becoming law.