Ireland To Draft ‘Urgent’ New Crypto Rules Ahead of EU Money Laundering Crackdown

Ireland is set to draft new rules governing cryptocurrency, ahead of the European Union’s (EU) new package of laws aimed at cracking down on money laundering and terrorist financing.

Finance Minister Jack Chambers is set to draft “urgent” legislation to update the country's crypto regulations, according to reporting by The Irish Examiner.

But the Minister didn’t give any clear hints as to what these rules would consist of, or when they will come into effect. Chambers, appointed to the role in June 2024, has little prior history as a crypto regulator.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, coming into play on December 30th 2024, provides much greater investigative powers to EU countries' Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) and gives them the ability to suspend transactions.

The wide-ranging basket of measures will also include an EU-wide ban on cash payments of more than €10,000 and much more stringent reporting requirements for many types of financial services firms, including crypto exchanges.

The revamped Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act should not be confused with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Act (MiCA), which specifically governs virtual assets like crypto and stablecoins. Both acts are set to come into effect in December 2024.

There have been many notable cases of organized crime in Ireland using crypto for money laundering. To combat this, Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has already taken steps to educate officers on investigating crypto crime, holding workshops in partnership with firms including crypto exchange Binance.

In 2020, the CAB seized Bitcoin then worth roughly $56 million from a Dublin man who was accused of operating a cannabis farm. To date, the CAB has been unable to access the funds, now worth $378 million.

Though it’s unclear exactly how Ireland will choose to legislate in response to the new anti-money laundering rules, many companies have begun speculating about the impact that coming EU rules will have on the sector.

Binance left Cyprus in July 2023 ahead of the incoming MiCA legislation, while other firms have highlighted it as a coming opportunity.

Beata Sivak, crypto exchange Kraken’s head of government relations and policy for Europe, said that MiCA “gives us the ability to invest in the region” as well as the “legal certainty” it needs at Brussels’ Blockchain Week.