The global landscape of crypto-asset regulations is diverse and, even though it is getting more complex, many regulators are still choosing to wait and see how this space develops and what others will do. Right now, all eyes are on the European Union and its bespoke approach to regulating crypto assets. As part of an expansive digital finance package announced in September 2020, the European Commission, or EC, issued a regulatory proposal titled Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA. The proposal is now making its way through the legislative process and is subject to intense debates. This important regulatory step has …

It turns out the 100-million euro digital bond issued by the European Investment Bank earlier this week was actually a trial of a European central bank digital currency. A Thursday announcement from France’s central bank, Banque de France, revealed the digital bond was settled using a CBDC on a blockchain. The two year-bond was issued on the Ethereum public blockchain on Tuesday and settled the following day, with a maturity date of April 28, 2023. The sale was led by Goldman Sachs, Santander and Societe Generale. “From a technological standpoint, the experiment required the development and deployment of smart contracts …

New York-based exchange-traded product sponsor and asset manager WisdomTree is expanding its digital assets range with the launch of a new Ether (ETH) exchange-traded product on two European stock exchanges. Borse Xetra and Swiss stock exchange SIX have both listed WisdomTree’s ETP, which provides investors with exposure to the native currency of the Ethereum blockchain without having to hold the asset directly nor to interact with its blockchain infrastructure at all. WisdomTree presents the product as an offshoot of “traditional financial infrastructure and product structuring,” with the provision of institutional-grade storage solutions for investors that remove the need for dealing …

Ireland’s crypto businesses have become subject to regulatory oversight for the first time, with local digital asset firms now observing Anti-Money Laundering guidelines set out by the European Union. The EU’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, or 5AMLD, was transposed into Irish law on Friday, via the Criminal Justice Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Amendment Act of 2021. The legislation requires firms that operate with crypto assets, custodial wallet providers — dubbed Virtual Asset Service Providers, or VASPs — and the businesses that service VASPS abide by the same regulatory standards as mainstream financial firms. Irish VASPs must now register with …

When the European Union’s Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive comes fully into force on June 3, every company that provides financial services to cryptocurrency customers and businesses will have to comply with much tougher regulations about when and how they identify customers. Strictly speaking, the 6AMLD has been in force since December 2020, but crypto service providers outside the EU have another two months to come into full compliance. This means all e-wallet providers and digital asset exchanges — among others — that have any European customers will need to be registered with EU authorities and perform stricter Know Your Transaction, …

It has been four months since the Brexit trade deal came into effect between the United Kingdom and the European Union. The deal, in common with other free trade agreements, does very little to support the export of financial services from the U.K. into the single market. As a result, spring has seen financial services firms, including those in financial technology adjusting to different trading relations with the EU, while also managing the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. Most notably, U.K. financial services have lost their automatic rights to service EU clients from their U.K. base, using the so-called passporting rights that …

The European Investment Bank, an international financial institution owned by European Union member states, is reportedly exploring blockchain technology for issuing digital bonds. According to a Tuesday Bloomberg report, the EIB has hired major global banks such as Goldman Sachs, Banco Santander and Société Générale to look at a potential deal involving a euro-denominated bond issued on a blockchain. Citing a person familiar with the matter, Bloomberg states that the EIB is planning to deploy blockchain technology for the registration and settlement of digital bonds. Investor meetings for the inaugural sale will reportedly start on Thursday and continue for several …

The European Central Bank, or ECB, has been investigating the possibility of launching a digital euro project within five years to complement existing central bank money. But whereas high-profile leaders such as ECB president Christine Lagarde have been largely positive about the prospect, officials from Germany's Bundesbank have remained unconvinced. In a new op-ed for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, ECB board member Fabio Panetta and fellow official Ulrich Bindseil attempted to tackle some of the Germans' misgivings head on: “The ECB is by no means planning to use a digital euro to enforce interest rates that are significantly more negative. …

Germany’s federal bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank, has run successful tests on a project which bridges the traditional finance infrastructure with blockchain technology. Despite the current global rush by central banks to familiarise themselves with central bank digital currency technology, the testing carried out by the Bundesbank, in conjunction with the Deutsche Börse Group and the German Finance Agency, required the issuance of no CB, or any tokenized money at all. The system reportedly relies on two software modules which form a connection between the Bundesbank’s internal system and distributed ledger technology. Instead of creating a token-based system, the bank simply …

Irish lawmakers will impose an anti money laundering regime on crypto for the first time in April The Central Bank of Ireland has extended the nation’s anti-money laundering, or AML, and countering the financing of terrorism, or CTF, guidelines to apply to Bitcoin and crypto assets from April. Starting next month, Ireland’s crypto asset service providers must comply with AML rules and other regulations for the first time. The new rules are a result of the inclusion of the latest European Union AML Directive into Irish law. Companies that operate with crypto assets, and any firms providing services to them, …

The European Securities and Markets Authority, the European Union's independent financial authority, has warned about the high risk of cryptocurrency investment. In its latest “Trends, Risks and Vulnerabilities” report published Wednesday, the ESMA analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on financial markets, highlighting the increased risks linked with investment in “non-regulated crypto-assets.” The authority mentioned that crypto assets saw a massive surge in value and trading volumes during the second half of 2020, with Bitcoin reaching all-time highs. The ESMA stated that the surge was driven by “positive newsflows in the crypto sector,” including PayPal’s move to roll out its crypto …

Six months after its first response to the European Commission’s crypto legislative proposal, the International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications, or INATBA, has released a detailed report on key issues regarding the planned regulations. According to the recently published document, INATBA argued that the commission's Markets in Crypto Assets regulations do not favor emerging cryptocurrency and blockchain firms. Instead, the blockchain group backed by Ripple and ConsenSys argued that the EC’s legislative proposal offers a significant advantage to incumbents in the legacy financial ecosystem. Indeed, this criticism is common among crypto and blockchain stakeholders in jurisdictions moving towards a more …