A member of the European Parliament from Spain says the cryptocurrency sector is vulnerable to money laundering and must be monitored, CryptoBriefing.com reported.
Luis Garicano, a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe party, said it is essential the European Union’s new watchdog monitor digital assets because crypto “is one of the fields more prone to money laundering activities.”
Scheduled to launch in 2024, the new watchdog post will be responsible for overseeing financial institutions, crypto-asset related firms, and reducing financial crimes, such as terrorist financing and money laundering.
The European Union created the anti-money laundering (AML) watchdog position, in part, to oversee the crypto sector.
Bloomberg reported the 27-member country organization wants cryptocurrency firms to fall within the authority of its new AML watchdog because of concerns that digital assets are linked to illicit activity.
Among the countries advocating for more oversight of cryptocurrency companies include Germany, Spain, Austria, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Today, European anti-money laundering efforts are carried out by several authorities in the EU bloc, without any coordination.
As the crypto market has boomed, regulators across the world have turned their attention to the industry.
Last week, the Russian Ministry of Finance submitted a draft law to regulate cryptocurrencies.
Read more: Russian Finance Ministry Proposes Crypto Rules
Under the proposed regulation, digital currencies are only available as an investment vehicle and cannot be used as payment, according to the release. Still, the guidelines are expected to be a step forward for the booming but unregulated industry.
Portugal’s securities and financial instruments regulator said it’s time to adopt rules for crypto assets.
Read also: Portugal’s Securities Regulator Vows Crypto Rules
Gabriel Bernardino, chairman of the Securities Market Commission (CMVM), told reporters Monday (Feb. 21) that cryptocurrency is not regulated in Portugal. As a result, action should be taken to implement regulations.
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