The recent events in Paris and the fear that has fallen on Europe due to the increased risk of terrorist attacks has led to media disinformation. The amount of misinformation continues to grow from false reports of bombs to information that the EU would ban Bitcoin. The recent events in Paris and the fear that Europe is undergoing due to the increased risk of terrorist attacks has led to media disinformation. The amount of misinformation continues to grow, from false reports about bombs to claims that the EU would ban Bitcoin. Facts The European Commission has issued a statement noting the need to accelerate and tighten some of the actions resulting from the so-called European Security Agenda, passed in April of this year, formally intended to serve as a set of laws and tools to combat the threat of terrorism. As it turns out, digital currencies are also on the target of the new European agenda. As we read from previous publications (April, 2015) of the European Commission, the carrying out of the January attack on the headquarters of the left-wing weekly Charlie Hebdo, as well as the February, much less media-publicized, attackers' action carried out in Copenhagen, played a large role in the emergence of the new EU guidelines . These attacks, the authorities gathered in Brussels, considered to be one of the main reasons to tighten internal security policy of the EU member states. This in turn translates into a tightening of existing as well as the introduction of new laws and the transfer of additional powers into the hands of the authorities. Powers that are often related to their competences regarding the degree of interference in our privacy. As we can read in the original agenda document, the priorities in this matter are to become: the fight against terrorism and radicalization the fight against organized crime the fight against cybercrime. This fight is to be carried out by exerting greater pressure on "the effective exchange of information between the various administrative units of EU countries", as well as by consistently "updating European legal standards on terrorism", giving more power to European financial intelligence units, national police forces and Europol. The new EU directives also target aspects of the law relating to electronic financial transfers, including currency and cryptocurrencies. The above are to be a part of the so-called European anti-money laundering package adopted in May this year. As we read in the latest Brussels document published on November 17 of this year, which is a report on actions taken so far, as well as future plans to be implemented under the European Security Agenda project: "digital currencies are to be the subject of greater attention in this regard". It should be noted that this is mainly about tightening controls on the flow of money and not just on cryptocurrencies themselves. This has to do with trying to cut off ISIS/terrorists from funding sources. The issue is much more complex and includes things like gold/other precious metals, oil, banks and financial institutions not complying with AML. So it is natural that bitcoin as money has found itself as the subject of the commission's study. The EC meeting itself will take place tomorrow (20.11.2015). In contrast, there is also the October report prepared by the British Government. It shows that cryptocurrencies pose the least (and even marginal) risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the European Commission will also come to similar conclusions. However, steps towards increased regulation of money flows using cryptocurrencies cannot be ruled out. The regulation of Bitcoin itself has been talked about for years and is nothing new. Many organizations and government institutions are calling for the regulation of cryptocurrencies. So, it can be expected that after the recent events in Paris, the work on regulation will gain momentum. This could result in detailed scrutiny of exchanges and exchange houses for AML compliance and other tightening. The regulations themselves do not have to mean a halt to Bitcoin's growth and, on the contrary, may even contribute to the development of Bitcoin infrastructure. An example is the recent European Court of Justice ruling and the VAT exemption for Bitcoin transactions. Clear legal regulations could mean the emergence of more companies interested in Bitcoin itself, which so far have not dared to do so due to high risk in the form of loose legal interpretations. However, as Bitlicense shows, it doesn't have to be this way; strict laws may well scare off potential investors. W
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