EU lawmakers want NFTs to be covered by anti-money laundering regulations

An amendment to the European Union's anti-money laundering (AML) law that would include non-fungible token (NFT) trading platforms with its provisions has been proposed by a number of members of the European Parliament in light of the bloc's progress on new regulations that may have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency industry.

The amendment concerning NFT is a component of a larger set of recommendations made by European legislators under the heading Preventing abuse of the financial system for money laundering or terrorism purposes.

Two green MEPs, Ernest Urtasun of Spain and Kira Marie Peter-Hansen of Denmark, as well as two socialist MEPs, Aurore Lalucq of France and Csaba Molnár of Hungary, put forth the proposal. NFT platforms would turn into "obliged entities" subject to the AML bill's regulations if this amendment were included in the final version.

According to the submitted provision, the four MPs want the EU to broaden the scope of the law to include "crypto-asset service providers, trading or acting as intermediaries for importing, minting, sale and purchase of unique and not fungible crypto-assets that represent ownership of a unique digital or physical asset, including works of art, real estate, digital collectibles, and gaming items and any other valuable."

Informal trilogues, also known as tripartite discussions, can result in provisional agreements on the draft legislation by European institutions as part of the intricate legislative process of the EU. These agreements are initially informal, and each of the three institutions—the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the Parliament—then needs to formally approve them.

At the same time, this week, the European Central Bank is anticipated to issue a warning to nations in the eurozone regarding the perceived risks of national regulators acting prior to the introduction of the designed EU cryptoasset rules. The bank will draw attention to the challenges of implementing effective sector oversight, according to The Financial Times.

The most recent development comes soon after the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union came to a provisional agreement on the Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR), which is intended to ensure that cryptocurrency transfers can be tracked and transactions deemed suspicious are blocked, potentially opening the door for tougher enforcement by the EU.

Among other things, the bill broadens the scope of Brussels' oversight over so-called "unhosted wallets," a move that many business representatives criticize as being harmful and potentially detrimental to the growth of the industry in Europe.

By fLEXI tEAM