The Block: EU does not ban self-hosted crypto exchanges or wallets

BlockBeats News, March 25: Panic broke out in the crypto community over the weekend amid false reports that the European Union would ban anonymous crypto wallets and self-hosted payments, The Block reported. The reports appear to have misunderstood comments made last Thursday by European Parliament member Patrick Breyer, who confirmed the EU Economic and Monetary Policy Committee’s approval of the new EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) and its final text. The misinformation quickly spread, warning that "payments to self-hosted Bitcoin and crypto wallets are now illegal." However, others were quick to echo the overreaction. “This needs to be taken seriously, but as always, it’s crucial to read the text of the actual legislative document. In short, self-custody is not illegal,” said Freddie New, UK director of Bitcoin Policy. Patrick Hansen, Circle’s director of EU strategy and policy, was also quick to refute the reports. "Self-hosted wallets are not prohibited. Payments and receipts from self-hosted wallets are not prohibited. Peer-to-peer transfers are expressly excluded from AML regulations, as are self-hosted software and hardware wallets," he said. “However, making payments with cryptocurrencies (e.g. to merchants) using self-hosted wallets without KYC will be more difficult/limited, depending on the merchant’s setup. This change, along with the introduction of anonymous cash payments The threshold was lowered, which unfortunately was agreed a few months ago," he added.