Irish Crypto Firms and Anti-Money Laundering Regulations

Irish crypto companies will have to comply with AML (anti-money laundering) as well as CTF (countering the financing of terrorism) guidelines for the first time starting next month. Importantly, the lawmakers will impose an anti-money laundering regime on crypto in April.

As a reminder, the Central Bank of Ireland extended the nation’s AML as well as CTF guidelines to apply to crypto assets from next month.

Interestingly, the country’s crypto asset service providers must comply with AML rules and other regulations. Notably, the new rules are a result of the inclusion of the laters EU AML directive into law. It means that companies that operate with such assets, and any firm providing services to them, will be required to complete due diligence checks on their clients. Moreover, they will have to check the origin and destination of the funds.

They will have to convince the central bank they are meeting AML and CTF policies. Such firms have to comply with the same standards as mainstream financial service providers. It is no secret that cryptocurrency historically existed outside of specific Irish laws.

Crypto firms and legal aspects

It is worth noting that, Ireland has the opportunity to take advantage of its well-earned reputation in both finance and technology. The country has the potential to use this advantage to position itself as the leading jurisdiction in which to establish an EU-regulated crypto services business.

As a reminder, some European jurisdictions already introduced “bespoke” domestic regulations for cryptocurrency. Importantly, European lawmakers cited crypto assets as an area of particular regulatory concern in recent years. Moreover, they warned that stablecoins could undermine the monetary sovereignty of nations, without regulations.

This week, the European Securities and Markets Authority warned about the increasing popularity of “non-regulated crypto assets”. Interestingly, the regulator attributed the popularity of crypto to strong investor demand. Moreover, the regulator mentioned the search for yield amid unprecedented global fiscal and monetary stimulus.

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin gained popularity all over the world and this fact underlines their importance. It is no secret that authorities are struggling to cope with crimes. As stated above, Irish crypto firms will comply with anti-money laundering ID checks for the first time. Authorities should join forces with companies to solve any issues. Thanks to regulations it will be easier to reduce the number of illegal activities.