De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the central bank of the Netherlands, has announced it will start regulating firms engaged in the cryptocurrency sector.
In a press release published today, the DNB said that cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet providers “are expected to become subject to [its] integrity supervision as of 10 January 2020.”
“We are required to start supervising these businesses under the fifth European anti-money laundering directive (AMLD5) and its implementation in Dutch law. Cryptos are vulnerable to financial crime, which is why it is important to set up integrity supervision now,” it added.
As such, firms offering services for the exchange between crypto and fiat and wallet providers would now be required to register with the central bank. In addition, the DNB would also assess the board members of these firms as well as some shareholders (qualifying holdings).
“They must demonstrate that their processes are effectively designed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, and that board members and other policymakers adequately manage these processes,” the central bank said. “Firms that do not register will no longer be allowed to provide crypto exchange services and wallets.”
The dedicated page on “cryptos” on the official DNB website urges businesses and consumers to be aware of the risks associated with investing in cryptocurrencies. During one of the ECB's Youth Dialogues, European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi had said that they will not impose any bans, but issued a warning, saying:
"The euro is backed by the ECB and the dollar is backed by the Federal Reserve. Nobody backs the bitcoin".
Comment 0