EU Parliament Votes For Bitcoin Privacy-Busting Rules

European Union lawmakers voted on Thursday in favor of a de-facto surveillance regime for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions as the region seeks to gather identifying information on transfers between private, self-custody wallets.

The EU Committees on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) voted to extend anti-money laundering requirements that currently apply to fiat payments over EUR 1,000 ($1,115) to the cryptocurrency sector. However, the rules scrap the floor for payments in bitcoin and cryptocurrency, so parties of transactions of any size would need to be identified.