Switzerland to roll out AML rules for its crypto industry 

The crypto industry in Switzerland is already bracing itself for the expected tougher measures that the government will implement.

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) would soon require crypto-related businesses to take additional steps to further prevent criminals from using cryptocurrencies in their illegal activities, reports said.

Keeping cryptos safe

The planned measures, of course, are not meant to crack down on Switzerland’s crypto industry, but to protect cryptocurrencies from being used by criminals on money-laundering transactions. 

Also, with these new measures, platforms and brokers that are dealing with cryptos would be required to improve their monitoring efforts to better observe if cryptocurrencies are used for illegal activities. 

FINMA said that it would also focus on Bitcoin ATMs because it believes that drug dealers are already using these machines to facilitate their operations. 

Even though Switzerland is a relatively small nation, it has the sixth-largest deployment of Bitcoin ATMs in the world, with 130 machines already in operation. 

And while this is a good news to further expand the country’s crypto adoption, unfortunately, it is also a good news for criminals, especially for drug dealers, because they can conduct their illegal activities much easier ー in plain sight. 

Giving criminals a hard time

The measures would certainly not eradicate illegal activities that use cryptocurrencies overnight, but it’s a good start to arrest this rising headache in the country. 

This would also send a message to lawbreakers who are using cryptos that the government would not tolerate their new scheme of using cryptos to facilitate their illegal activities. 

FINMA said that it would now lower the threshold for unidentified crypto purchases from 5,000 Swiss Francs (CHF) to 1,000 CHF. 

Any transactions exceeding this amount would now involve the collection of data, including verifying the identity of the person initiating the transaction. This measure is expected to discourage criminals from using cryptos for their unlawful activities. 

Image courtesy of Cointelegraph News/YouTube

Source: https://bitcoinerx.com/blockchain/switzerland-to-roll-out-aml-rules-for-its-crypto-industry/