Category: wallets

Non-custodial wallets are under threat

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn crypto, Regulations, walletsLeave a comment

What is the difference between a custodial and non-custodial wallet? The prime difference between custodial and non-custodial cryptocurrency services is that the private key is managed by third parties in the former, whereas it is handled by users in the latter case.

The EU is proposing some regulatory changes regarding these wallets managed privately by users. On March 31, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) approved provisions to Europe’s Transfer of Funds Regulation that restricts Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) from transacting with unhosted wallets without verifying their owners’ identities beforehand. Furthermore, VASPs will be required to report all crypto transactions worth more than 1,000 EUR to relevant anti-money laundering authorities.

As Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase says, “Imagine if the EU demanded your bank to report you to the authorities every time you paid your rent, simply because the transaction was over 1,000 Euros.” Armstrong also said that the regulation amounts to treating “every person who holds crypto differently from fiat.” And if you use Coinbase, or indeed any other centralized exchange, if you are being sent a transaction that is above €1,000 in value, “Coinbase will be required to collect, store, and verify information on the other party, which is not our customer, before the transfer is allowed.”

Patrick Hansen of Unstoppable Finance remarked, the upshot of such a piece of regulation would mean that transactions between non-custodial wallets and centralized exchanges “would become way more costly and burdensome” due to the data collection requirements.

Furthermore, Hansen pointed out that the databases storing names, home addresses, and other sensitive personal data would become the target of hackers and criminals, which could lead to increased incidents of hacking, phishing, and physical violence targeting crypto users. He also warned that the provisions of the regulations could have even more drastic effects in the future, namely that the EU Commission could “potentially move to impose an outright ban on transfers between VASPs and non-custodial wallets in the future.”

Fortunately, the legislation has not yet been passed, and a debate on it will start this April. Hansen is hopeful: “Individual voices from the council and commission make me optimistic that we can still achieve changes.” If the legislation does pass, cryptocurrency businesses will still have nine months to adopt plans to adopt and implement the regulation, and 18 months until they must ensure full compliance.

European Commission causes crypto shock!

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn crypto, Governments, walletsLeave a comment

Early yesterday, the European Commission regulators declared that they were “banning anonymous cryptocurrency wallets” as part of a money laundering crackdown. The shockwaves rippled through the markets and probably caused some near heart attacks for a few crypto holders.

Thankfully, it soon became clear that the EU had not been quite clear about the substance of its proposed regulation. It is one of four proposals intended to “to strengthen the EU’s anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing (AML/CFT) rules,” as its press statement says.

The statement also says:

“At the heart of today’s legislative package is the creation of a new EU Authority which will transform AML/CFT supervision in the EU and enhance cooperation among Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs). The new EU-level Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) will be the central authority coordinating national authorities to ensure the private sector correctly and consistently applies EU rules. AMLA will also support FIUs to improve their analytical capacity around illicit flows and make financial intelligence a key source for law enforcement agencies.

In particular, AMLA will:

  • establish a single integrated system of AML/CFT supervision across the EU, based on common supervisory methods and convergence of high supervisory standards;
  • directly supervise some of the riskiest financial institutions that operate in a large number of Member States or require immediate action to address imminent risks;
  • monitor and coordinate national supervisors responsible for other financial entities, as well as coordinate supervisors of non-financial entities;
  • support cooperation among national Financial Intelligence Units and facilitate coordination and joint analyses between them, to better detect illicit financial flows of a cross-border nature.”

Unfortunately, Mairead McGuinness, the EU Commissioner for Financial Services, tweeted that the measure “will ban anonymous crypto wallets and make sure that crypto-asset transfers are traceable.” But, as David Z Morris writes, “The statement from McGuinness is straight-up FUD.”

The EU is not proposing a ban on anonymous wallets; instead it is proposing tighter rules on money service providers, such as exchanges or custody services. Morris explains, “In short, the ban would impact the crypto equivalent of Swiss bank accounts, not the use of crypto as cash.”

What Morris also pointed out is important: media outlets reported McGuinness’s tweet without checking the veracity. As a consequence crypto prices slumped, although they have recovered since. However, he does say, and this is important: the EU knows it can’t ban anonymous wallets, so why would a Commissioner tweet misinformation? He suggests, “by obfuscating the difference between custodial wallets and self-custody software, they may hope they can mislead some portion of the public into thinking that custodial accounts are the only kind that exist.”

The upshot of all this is “if you’re willing and able to self-custody, which you should be doing anyway, you can still hold and spend crypto anonymously.