Why EBA Proposals Would Set an Absurd Precedent for Bitcoin Startups

Adam Vaziri is the founder of Diacle, a “finreg” compliance and legal consultancy based in London and Hong Kong, and a member of the UK Digital Currency Association.
In this opinion piece, Vaziri discusses the European Banking Authority’s new proposals for digital currency regulation and why they could make starting a bitcoin exchange more onerous than opening a bank.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) wrote an opinion on the application of its 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD) to virtual currency exchanges and wallets last week.
A response to recommendations from the European Commission, the EBA’s remarks notably mention that VC exchanges and wallets operating in multiple countries in the EU “may […] be required to be registered or licensed in each Member State in which they intend to provide VC-related services”.
The seemingly small aside in the nine-page response is notable, as such a measure would be akin to the state-by-state registration process that VC exchanges have to do in the US.
This is due to the fact that there are no passporting rights granted under 4AMLD – understandable, as the regulations are not designed to facilitate the movement of goods, services or capital, but are simply motivated by the public policy imperative of protecting the EU from terrorism and crime.
At Diacle, we take the view that a member state-level registration is an unnecessary burden placed on VC exchanges and wallets.

This post was published at Coin Desk on August 15, 2016.