EU Moves to Surveil Every Crypto Transaction—’For Transparency,’ Says Eurogroup Chief

Brace for blockchain Big Brother. The Eurogroup confirms plans to implement sweeping crypto transaction tracking across the EU—because nothing says ’financial freedom’ like bureaucrats watching your every Satoshi.

Privacy coins? Forget it. The bloc’s new framework aims to strip anonymity from digital asset flows, framing it as an anti-money laundering measure (and conveniently expanding fiscal oversight).

Bonus jab: Because if there’s one thing governments love more than taxing crypto, it’s pretending they understand how it works.

Strengthening EU’s New AML Authority Rules

Minister Donohoe addressed the gathering on the importance of the new EU anti-money laundering authority (AMLA) rule. The package of legislative proposals would help strengthen the EU’s rules on AML and countering terrorism financing.

“Closer cooperation and coordination is absolutely critical. Not just at an international level, at a European level,” he added. “This initiative is a landmark development. What it aims to do is to create a strong toolkit for tackling these deeply serious issues.”

The Commission adopted a regulation in May 2023 on transfers of funds, which aims to make transfers of crypto-assets more transparent and fully traceable.

Further, the AML regulation will restrict crypto firms from interacting with anonymous wallets and privacy coins, effective July 1, 2027. Additionally, Regulators will block the IP addresses of non-compliant decentralized exchanges.

AMLR Law is Not a Crypto Regulation

The rule was formally passed by the EU last year, which applies to all crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). According to Patrick Hansen, Circle’s EU Strategy and Policy Director, the new AMLR law “is not a crypto regulation.”

He said at the time that the framework is broad and applies to all financial institutions, including crypto firms.

Further, Unity Wallet COO James Toledano said that the new EU AMLR rule risks “the ethos of DeFi.” He told Decrypt that these laws match traditional banking standards, but don’t fit well with crypto’s decentralized structure.

“They can and will be easily circumvented as self-custodial crypto is truly global and holders will find other ways of cashing out their chips,” he said.