The European Commission – the executive arm of the European Union – has proposed a directive aimed [at] preventing the use [of] the financial system for terrorist financing which includes a central database for bitcoin and virtual currency users' identities and wallet addresses accessible to government financial intelligence units (FIUs).
The proposal seeks to require member states to bring into force the regulations necessary to comply with this directive by Jan. 1, 2017.
[...] To counter the risks related to the anonymity, national FIUs should be able to associate virtual currency addresses to the identity of the owner of virtual currencies. In addition, the possibility to allow users to self-declare to authorities voluntarily should be considered.
The proposal defines "virtual currencies" as "a digital representation of value that is neither issued by a central bank or a public authority, nor necessarily attached to a fiat currency, but is accepted by natural or legal persons as a means of payment and can be transferred, stored or traded electronically."
Source: CCN.LA
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 05 2016, @05:33PM
so they are saying a bunch of nerds, connected thru the internet, cannot (legally) agree on a "value", a way to "secure it" and "transfer it" via some random program they run on their computers?