Bitcoin Daily: Dutch Parliament Cracks Down On Money Laundering; Busan Considers Launching Its Own Crypto

Dutch ministers have revealed plans to regulate cryptocurrencies in order to prevent money laundering in the country.

Minister of Finance Wopke Hoekstra and Ferdinand Grapperhaus, Minister of Justice and Security, sent a note to Parliament on Monday (July 1) explaining a three-part approach to limit the risks associated with cryptos — an effort to make the country a leader in the fight against money laundering.

“Crime cannot pay. Not in the Netherlands, not in Europe, and not globally. This makes it possible for criminals to stay out of the reach of the government and to enjoy those proceeds undisturbed. These illegal proceeds can also be used to finance the same or new criminal activities,” according to the letter, which Hard Fork reported was addressed to the government’s chairman.

As part of the plan, the ministers propose tightening the regulation of cryptocurrency services and initial coin offerings (ICOs), as well as boosting investments in projects to prevent crimes. In addition, they want to ban cash payments of over €3,000, and have also requested that the €500 bank note be withdrawn from circulation.

In other news, Busan, South Korea’s second largest city, might launch its own cryptocurrency with BNK Busan Bank, a subsidiary of BNK Financial Group.

According to Cointelegraph, the project would be in the form of stablecoin, a crypto pegged 1:1 to the local currency in the BNK Busan Bank account. The city hopes that the plan will revive the local economy, as well as secure Busan’s position as a leader in blockchain.

And Jeffrey Berns announced that he has acquired a small community bank for $28 million.

Berns, who revealed last year his plans to create a blockchain-focused master-planned community and e-sports arena in the Nevada desert, said the acquisition of the Las Vegas-based Kirkwood Bank of Nevada is an important step in reaching his goal.

“Purchasing the bank was basically security for me to make sure that Blockchains and I had access to the financial system,” he said in an interview with The Nevada Independent. “But secondarily, it’s to create an environment where the blockchain ecosystem, the legitimate businesses out there who are trying to build projects that are going to empower the individual and better the world, that they have a bank that understands what they’re doing and isn’t fearful.”