European Union’s member central banks are tightening the regulation of cryptocurrency ownership in their respective countries. But, despite these never-ending regulatory concerns, cryptocurrency exchanges are gearing up to comply with this extensive regulatory process. BLOX, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Netherlands has successfully registered with the De Nederlandsche Bank NV (Dutch Central Bank) according to a blog post. It is now able to provide cryptocurrency services to all cryptocurrency traders and enthusiasts in the country.
The new exchange had to comply with the latest Anti Money Laundering (AML) regulations enforced by the central bank’s bureaucracy on recommendation of the European Central Bank. These new set of rules are called Anti Money Laundering Directive 5 (AMLD5). According to BLOX, the registration is now mandatory for every cryptocurrency exchange that wishes to operate in the Netherlands.
BLOX is by no means the only exchange that has the capability to offer solutions while being compliant with the new set of regulations. According to AMDAX, a large investor exchange based in Netherlands, it was the first to get a commercial operating license from the central bank. It made headlines last month for achieving this feat. However, AMDAX is only for big investors and the minimum amount they deal with is 2.5 BTC, which a majority of the cryptocurrency investing doesn’t have. So, BLOX claims to be the first mass market cryptocurrency exchange that everyone can use.
The Dutch government maintains a list of approved cryptocurrency service providers. According to the website, there is also an addition of a new company since the registration of BLOX. This new entrant is called 2525 Ventures B.V, which is operating from Rotterdam.
So, overall it is interesting to see that despite the tough regulatory outlook from the EU member countries, exchanges are up to the task and complying with them. However, the European governments also need to take a step forward and look into the strict regulations being passed by financial bureaucrats and see if they are not affecting the business operations and the positive outlook of cryptocurrency in the economic union. Failure to do so might force businesses to relocate from EU member countries to other places like Switzerland and tax havens.
Image source: pixabay.com
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