Not only anonymous exchange and cryptocurrencies, apparently the new anti-money laundering rules that are about to be launched in Europe are already having an extremely negative impact on numerous blockchain companies of the old continent; Already last week the payment processor BottlePay had announced its closure due to the impossibility of adapting to the new regulatory framework, now, within a few hours, two other companies confirm that they have made the same decision. Both ChopCoin, a gaming platform, and Simplecoin, a mining pool, have announced that they will close their doors due to the impossibility of adapting to the new KYC rules that will be introduced in Europe next year and which are then the result of the crackdown wanted by the group of international financial action, or FATF if you prefer. If these rules make sense when applied to exchanges, it is clear to anyone that it is simply insane to pretend that they are also applied to gaming platforms or, worse still, to mining pools; in particular, Simplecoin has stated in this regard that:
When the laws come into force, we would be obliged to require users to identify themselves in order to comply with the new anti-money laundering regulations, but mining should be available to anyone and we refuse to jeopardize the privacy of our users. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the mining pools and the cryptocurrency space as a whole
No less harsh is the statement by ChopCoin which, in addition to reaffirming the importance of its role in the last five years, reaffirms its refusal to proceed with the collection of user data, claiming to prefer to close rather than require people to transmit their confidential data . It is however likely that the two companies simply seek a new registered office to work at, thus circumventing the legal obligations provided for in Europe. Both ChopCoin and Simplecoin then invited users to withdraw their funds by next 19 and December 20, respectively, and both promised that they will proceed with the complete deletion of all user data by next January 1st. Clearly this type of law has a negative impact only on smaller and less structured companies, while the giants of the sector will still be able to adapt more or less easily; it remains that the European community has once again demonstrated its own short-sightedness, introducing a regulatory framework without the slightest concern for the impact that these laws will have on certain economic activities. Therefore, the appointment of Christine Lagarde is not enough to hope that a regulatory framework conducive to the growth of the blockchain industry in the old continent will be established in the EU, all the more so by virtue of the fact that there are gross errors such as, for example, extend anti-money laundering regulations to mining pools; never mind, in any case, it will mean that blockchain companies will move to more welcoming countries and that Europe will end up falling behind in this new industrial revolution as, on the other hand, it is lagging behind almost from almost any point of view , not only economic but also, and perhaps above all, political.
