Buyers and sellers of cryptocurrencies including bitcoin will no longer be able to trade assets anonymously in Ireland under an expanded anti-money laundering regimeCryptocurrency service providers in Ireland will have to comply with money laundering rules and other basic regulations for the first time starting next month. Starting in April, Vasps will have to register with the Central Bank for anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) purposes after the latest European Union AML Directive is transposed into Irish law. The change in supervisory rules will give the Central Bank the power to block senior appointments at the firms or to take enforcement action for failure to live up to AML or CFT laws. Crypto-currency platforms have been accused of being vulnerable to criminal use and terrorist financing activities for years. Ireland has historically been slow to adopt new EU money laundering rules, however the Government has moved quickly to bring the latest directive into law.

Source: Irish Independent March 16, 2021 14:21 UTC