Bringing bitcoin exchanges’ anonymous trading practices to the public could be the key to tracking down terror groups’ funding, according to the European Union executive arm.
Last month, a senior official of the European Commission (EC) told the European Parliament that the commission doesn’t see the need to regulate digital currencies just yet because they are more focused on understanding “better what is happening.”
Now weeks later, the commission came out with an action plan that details several changes to its Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD). The amendments, according to the commission, will help strengthen the government’s fight against terrorism financing.
The plan doesn’t actually have any piece of evidence to prove virtual currencies are being used to finance terrorism, but EC feels the need to come up with a regulation as part of its ongoing effort to stop terror attacks. Better to be safe than sorry, right?