Europe: Crypto and Blockchain News Roundup 23rd February to 2nd March 2019

Europe

Welcome to another weekly blockchain news roundup from around the world. Here we present to you all the latest Bitcoin news continent by continent and country by country.

Russia

President Vladimir Putin Sets July 1 Deadline for Crypto Regulations: The President of Russia Vladimir Putin has instructed the Federal Assembly to set a deadline of 1 July to come up with the regulatory framework for digital asset regulation in the country. The move comes after months of indecisive attitude of the local financial watchdogs when it comes to cryptocurrency regulation.

Until now, only a working draft has been prepared with several shortcomings that have been criticized by many leading cryptopreneurs and enthusiasts.

Malta

IMF Suggest That Malta’s Current AML and CFT Regulations Are Insufficient: The international monetary watchdog International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently stated that there are some shortcomings when it comes to Malta’s Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) regulations. The Times of Malta reported the news after IMF released a comprehensive report on the country’s regulatory and supervisory framework including an assessment of its financial system.

The IMF recommended a multi-faceted approach for these deficiencies in the CFT/AML regulations. Screenings of beneficiary owner information and monitoring of risk-sensitive accounts including digital assets like cryptocurrencies should be among the top priorities of the government according to the IMF.

Malta has some of the most progressive laws when it comes to cryptocurrencies but due to the transnational nature of these new assets, contemporary financial authorities are wary of the threat it brings.

Germany

Derivatives Exchange Considering Crypto Futures Contracts: German derivatives market Eurex has been rumoured to soon start new futures contracts according to local news. The exchange is supposedly considering Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple for these said contracts.

While no official comments have been made by the exchange itself regarding the bold move, news outlets reported that the exchange’s management is working behind the scenes with marketing experts and others regarding these futures contracts.

Ukraine

Government Completes Pilot for e-Hyrvnia Currency: The government of Ukraine with the help of the country’s Central bank has announced the successful culmination of a pilot program for a national digital currency project.

The news was broken by the Head of Payments Network of the National Bank of Ukraine Aleksandr Yablunivsky. The pilot project itself was launched in December 2018. However, Yablunivsky rejected the notion that the new currency was a cryptocurrency. He claims it is just a project to reduce the reliance on cash in the local market.

European Union

Regulatory Head Seeks More Control of the Cryptocurrency Markets: Steven Maijoor, the current head of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has said that he supports further regulation of cryptocurrency assets in the Union.

According to Maijoor:

“Where crypto assets do not qualify as financial instruments, we are concerned that the absence of applicable financial rules leaves consumers exposed to substantial risks,”

It is yet unclear what Maijoor is proposing as part of a further regulatory package. The EU currently has one of the toughest cryptocurrency regulation in the world and it is believed that the central working committee will propose further tightening of regulations like Anti Money Laundering to include cryptocurrency transactions from one asset to another and not just crypto-fiat transactions. Cryptocurrencies have overall become a major headache for European countries who are torn between supporting the new asset class and ensuring governments’ control over it.

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