European Parliament passes virtual currency report, digital currency exchange anti-money laundering bill one step closer

The European Parliament's Economic and Financial Committee voted today to nearly unanimously approve their report on virtual currencies.

The result of 54 to 1 is considered to have passed the last hurdle for the European Parliament to set up a virtual currency task force, which will be established after a vote by the entire European Parliament.

In the afternoon, Siân Jones, founder of the European Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Forum (EDCAB), told CoinDesk that the vote was a big move to bring the regulation of digital currency trading platforms into existing anti-money laundering laws. He said,

“This is a big step toward support and encouragement, while at the same time, regulators acknowledging that this is challenging.”

Jones is one of the third-industry stakeholders who spoke at a virtual currency hearing for members of Parliament earlier this year.

The overwhelming support for the report was hard-won. According to Jones, the original five-page document contained 62 pages of amendments.

According to the report, regulation of virtual currency exchanges should fall under existing anti-money laundering laws, and a task force should be set up to oversee the digital currency economy.

Nevertheless, the EU’s favorable regulation towards digital currencies is well thought out and more relaxed than other countries, such as the United States.

For example, the European Court of Justice exempted Bitcoin transactions from VAT, recognizing that digital currencies have the same payment functions as other legal currencies. In contrast, some US government agencies view Bitcoin as an asset, which means that Bitcoin transactions at different prices should be taxed, and even as a payment method for purchasing goods should be taxed.

Today's vote comes after the International Committee on Consumer Protection in Markets published its own version of the report, which will be adopted as regulation by all 751 members of the European Parliament in May.