Regulatory changes in the cryptocurrency world are always contentious. Many people see the benefits, whereas others oppose any changes. In the Netherlands, a lot of major changes are coming to cryptocurrency service providers. All of these changes seem to be directed at fostering the Bitcoin industry moving forward. The new requirements will go in effect in January of 2020.
Dutch Central Bank Oversight
The big change coming next year is how the Dutch central bank will supervise cryptocurrency service providers. More specifically, all brokers, exchanges, wallet providers, and others will need to officially notify the central bank regarding their intentions. Companies who fail to meet these simple criteria will no longer be allowed to effectively operate within The Netherlands. It is not the most intrusive change, but certainly one that will spark some interesting debates accordingly.
In doing so, the Dutch central bank aims to bring more legitimacy to the cryptocurrency industry. To this date, Bitcoin and other currencies are still largely unsupervised within the European Union. It seems unlikely that the situation will change in the near future, although one never knows what the near future may bring. For all intents and purposes, it seems this is a prominent and positive change.
European AML Guidelines
This change was somewhat to be expected. Europe-wide, a new decree was issued to fight money laundering on a much larger scale. Given the association between Bitcoin and money laundering, it is only normal this nascent industry would get caught in the crosshairs. Rather than banning the use of Bitcoin and altcoins, however, the Dutch government is looking to introduce more supervision and regulate the industry.
Cryptocurrencies remain “vulnerable” to economic crime across Europe. Ensuring that situation changes for the better will not be easy, thus some dedicated efforts are needed to push the situation in the right direction. These new measures are similar to the cryptocurrency industry in Japan, where service providers also need to register with the government prior to offering their services to customers.
No Major Changes Expected
The Netherlands is an interesting region in terms of cryptocurrency use. It is one of the few European countries to issue clear taxation guidelines many years ago. From that point forward, it seemed Bitcoin would be considered legal in The Netherlands. Unlike what most people expected, no other European countries have followed suit in that regard just yet. That in itself is problematic, although this new initiative may push other governments in the right direction.
Disclaimer: This is not trading or investment advice. The above article is for entertainment and education purposes only. Please do your own research before purchasing or investing into any cryptocurrency or digital currency.
