The Estonian parliament’s move to revoke licenses was just the beginning of yet it is to come. The finance ministry is working on enacting even more strict rules. So far, there are up to 75% of crypto businesses’ licenses that were revoked.
The Estonian Ministry of Finance enacted the legislation in January to govern the crypto industry. From the proposal, it is not the Financial Intelligence Unit that will oversee crypto business regulation but instead, the Estonia Financial Supervisory Authority will do it.
All crypto businesses interested in venturing in Estonia will be obliged to get a license from Finantsinspektsioon. The companies whose licenses were not revoked will be forced to reapply for an operating permit from the Financial Supervisory Authority.
According to the Finance ministry spokesperson, the government does not have any intention to halt crypto operations. There is only about 50 to 100 crypto business from the authority’s approximation that has a license and complies with the proposed regulatory changes.
Just like many governments, Estonia made that move in an attempt to curb money laundering. It is just in June 2020 that there was a money-laundering scandal worth $220 billion laundered. The scandal was linked to Danske Bank. In the same year, there were traces of crypto scammers taking over the country’s e-residency program.
Estonia has been undergoing so much, especially in the political space, with corruption scandals that have led to prime minister Juri Ratas’s resignation. The ongoing saga will delay the implementation of the legislation, which is good for the crypto ecosystem.
Estonia has been a leader in the crypto space, and it was one of the pioneers of legalizing crypto operations. This made other companies take advantage and move to Estonia when they need to conduct ICOs or raise money for crypto activities. Even though there were many good companies, there are many crypto scammers that took advantage of the space leading to many suspicious ICOs.
When the political climate cools down, and the new government takes over, it is likely to pass the new law. When the new regulation is approved, it will come into effect from July 1, 2021.
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