New Estonian Cryptocurrency Law Does Not Increase VASP Investments and Bans Personal and Commercial Use of Cryptocurrencies

The Estonian Securities and Exchange Commission has said the Cryptocurrency Law for Further Research and Discussion will not restrict the use of Securities Users (VASP) by cryptocurrency owners or traders. . The new model does not apply directly to users of personal wallets that have not been configured with up-to-date Estonian VASPs, individuals can still use their wallets without supervision.

The new Estonian law has to be read three times by the government and can be adopted until the first half of 2022.

The Estonian Ministry of Finance released the announcement on Sunday. The advisory states that this script applies to VASPs and not to general users. In other words, there are no measures in this article that prohibit users from owning and trading virtual assets, requiring consumers to share their personal wallet transactions. . provided by uninterrupted VASP. However, accounts opened with Estonian VASP cannot be anonymous and Estonian VASP cannot offer anonymous funds or wallets.

Estonian Finance Minister Keit Pentus-Rosimannus said the law focuses on strengthening financial protection policies (AMLs) for VASPs. If approved, the new law obliges Estonian VASPs to identify consumers when depositing or withdrawing money.

The instructions show that the new encryption law is similar to the rules of banks and payment providers, as virtual devices also have a change in value, writes and information exchange can reduce the risk that virtual assets are used for financial fraud.

The Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) started issuing VASP licenses in 2017, but the regulations are so lenient that in 2020 the FIU revoked the licenses of more than 1,000 cryptocurrency companies over bad contacts with Estonia. Under the new law, only companies operating in Estonia or affiliated with Estonia can apply for a VASP license in Estonia.

The new law also restricts the capital constraints of VASPs. Currently, the minimum capital of VASP is € 12,000, and according to the new model, the minimum capital will be raised to € 125,000 or € 350,000, increasing the start-up to reduce the number of companies listed in name.

Financial attorney Märt Belkin said that technology developers are not considered suppliers, but if it is difficult to determine the supplier (for example, services are distributed), a number of steps should be taken to determine who has the best management. According to the terms of service, one of the measures is to find people who will benefit from the service provision.