In a statement posted on the club website on Thursday, the Eredivisie side, which finished third in the 2020/2021 Dutch football season, announced crypto broker Bitcoin Meester as its exclusive and official cryptocurrency partner until mid-2024. According to the announcement, the sponsorship deal with be finalized fully in Bitcoin, with the Dutch club stating its intentions to keep the BTC sum on its balance sheet. For AZ’s commercial director Michael Koster, the appeal of Bitcoin and crypto is undeniable hence the club’s decision to adopt BTC. “The cryptocurrency market is booming, with an exponential growth of users in recent years,” …

A cryptocurrency ban is not the right solution for the Netherlands, the country’s finance minister reportedly said after a local official called for a total ban on crypto. The Netherlands should regulate the cryptocurrency market instead of prohibiting its citizens from using crypto entirely, Dutch minister of finance Wopke Hoekstra stated, according to a Friday report by local news agency NU.nl. The official still admitted to certain risks associated with the crypto market, reportedly saying that he understood the concerns raised by the director of the Dutch Bureau for Economic Analysis, Pieter Hasekamp. The minister stressed that it’s crucial to …

While El Salvador adopts Bitcoin as legal tender, one Dutch official blasted the cryptocurrency, calling for an urgent blanket ban. Pieter Hasekamp, director of the Dutch Bureau for Economic Analysis under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, published an essay entitled “The Netherlands must ban bitcoin.” In line with the essay’s title, Hasekamp lists a wide list of reasons why the Dutch government must enforce an immediate total ban on mining, trading and holding Bitcoin (BTC). According to the official, this could cause the price to plummet because Bitcoin “has no intrinsic value and is only valuable because …

A franchisee of many Domino’s Pizza locations in the Netherlands announced today that its workers would have the choice of being paid in Bitcoin. According to Immensus Holding, the franchisee behind 16 Domino's Pizza locations out of the more than 270 in the Netherlands, its employees will be able to choose between being paid in euros or Bitcoin (BTC) for all salary above the country’s minimum wage. BTC Direct, a Netherlands-based crypto firm with a fiat-to-crypto onramp, will handle the payments for any of the company’s more than 1000 employees who choose to participate. "We are a modern company, and …

De Nederlandsche Bank NV — the Dutch central bank — has registered about 20 crypto exchanges in the country but is no closer to determining the number of cryptocurrency investors in the country. According to Dutch online news service Nu.nl, regulators like DNB and the Autoriteit Financiële Markten, or AFM, as well as the investor group Vereniging Van Effectenbezitters, or VEB are unsure of the crypto ownership demographic in the Netherlands. Since late 2020, Dutch authorities began enforcing the European Union’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive with significant implications for crypto businesses. Under the AMLD-5 paradigm, the De Nederlandsche Bank has …

Robert Valentine, chairman of the Libertarian Party in the Netherlands, has erected a number of pro-crypto billboards in advance of an election later this week. In an image shared on Valentine’s Twitter account, the Libertarian Party leader appears with laser eyes atop a message that states, “Bitcoin is the future.” The party is one of 37 vying for seats in the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, which is scheduled to hold a general election on Wednesday. Je zou toch maar met je hoofd op een paar billboards staan van 13 bij 10 meter. #Verkiezingen2021 #TK2021 #bitcoin #stemLP pic.twitter.com/GQcqa8Uy1e — …

Every Friday, Law Decoded delivers analysis on the week’s critical stories in the realms of policy, regulation and law. Editor's note “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” begins the most famous English-language story of the French Revolution. Though many would disagree with me, I would argue that neither is true of today. Maybe that’s why what passes for revolutions these days is so dependent on memes and lunatic viral conspiracy theories. That same memetic energy has brought together an unholy matrimony of anarchists, leftists, populists, jilted investment bros, Boogie boys and survivalists, AOC stans, …

Dutch Bitcoin (BTC) exchange platform Bitonic has filed a preliminary injunction at a Rotterdam court seeking the suspension of a wallet verification rule enacted by the central bank. Back in November 2019, De Nederlandsche Bank, or DNB, mandated crypto exchanges ensure their users comply with stringent Know Your Customer protocols. These rules included verification steps for withdrawal wallets, which Bitonic called a nuisance. At the time, Bitonic held only one of three licenses granted by the DNB out of 38 applications to the central banks by crypto exchanges. Indeed, 25 out of 38 applicants also sent a joint letter to …

Crypto exchange platform Bitstamp is reportedly demanding additional Know Your Customer compliance steps for Dutch-based users. According to a notice sent to Twitter user “Bitcoin Marcus,” — a Bitstamp user — the platform says account holders in the Netherlands have until the end of January to provide additional verification documents or risk their accounts being suspended. Today @Bitstamp has gone even further than the law requires. They now want me to: - show them how much I earn - show them where I got my #bitcoin from - proof of funds Seriously!! WTF!! And I can’t withdraw and leave so …

Digital asset exchange Bitstamp has reportedly banned Netherlands-based users from withdrawing crypto to external wallets without first verifying they own the receiving address. According to a letter authored by Bitstamp that was shared on Twitter by user “Bitcoin Marcus,” Bitstamp’s users in Holland must now submit third-party addresses alongside photographic evidence they own the wallet for whitelisting before withdrawals will be processed. “Whitelisting is a security feature which was already available at Bitstamp, but now it has become obligatory for all customers affected by the new regulation in the Netherlands,” the letter stated. Yes, this is real. People in the …

Bitconic, a Netherlands-based Bitcoin (BTC) exchange, has informed its users that they now need to comply with a new verification measure in order to continue to use its services. The change comes following new requirements from the Dutch central bank, published in November 2019, which stipulate: “Crypto service providers must check whether their clients and any ultimate beneficiary owners (UBOs) are on a Dutch or European sanctions list and report any hits to DNB. Risk-based checks are not permitted [...] compliance also entails that institutions must check incoming and outgoing payment transfers.” Bitonic has informed customers that they must now, …

Every Friday, Law Decoded delivers analysis on the week’s critical stories in the realms of policy, regulation and law. Editor's note In the United States, as President Donald Trump stonewalls any efforts at transitioning to a new administration, all eyes are on Joe Biden’s potential team and any hints as to candidates for major appointed positions. Further complicating the set up of a presidential roster is that most presidential appointments require Senate approval. The Senate, meanwhile, is waiting until January for a run-off election in Georgia to establish a majority. So, as with everything else, we in the states are …