The European commission said yesterday (July 5) that it was proposing strict new rules for companies that exchange or store digital currencies such as bitcoin.The European Union’s executive arm wants to make exchanges and storage services comply with the anti-money-laundering rules that govern banks and other financial institutions.The requirements can be onerous.Companies must collect their customers’ identity documents, and maintain detailed records.They must also monitor transactions on their platforms and report any that run the risk of being linked to money-laundering or terrorism-financing.Even established financial institutions have found these requirements burdensome.Not so for bitcoin companies.They’re positively welcoming the increased scrutiny, taking it as a sign that the digital currency is being taken seriously by government.In fact, many of the most well-funded companies had already put these regulatory measures in place voluntarily, in some cases for years.“We have anticipated this stance from the European commission from day one,” says Frank Schuil, co-founder of Safello, a bitcoin exchange in Sweden.

Schuil’s company has required customer identity documents since it launched in 2013, he says.Take Circle, a Venmo-like wallet service backed by Goldman Sachs that lets users convert between bitcoin and US dollars and pounds sterling.It’s regulated by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority as an “e-money” transmitter, so it’s already subject to strict anti-money-laundering rules.“We appreciate the European commission’s receptiveness to industry comments and their efforts to develop comprehensive AML rules,” John Beccia, Circle’s general counsel, said in response to the proposed EU rules.bitcoin kurs us dollarIndeed, neither Safello nor Circle plan to make any major changes to the way they identify customers or monitor transactions.bitcointalk gameWell-funded and institutionally backed firms like Circle, which has raised over $130 million, will be able to shrug off the burden of the EU’s proposals.electrum bitcoin

Marketplaces that facilitate meetings for cash-based transactions, such as Local Bitcoins, or the dozens of small bitcoin ATM networks, might have a tougher time coping.“Smaller brokerages that have operated on a fraud-prevention basis, as opposed to AML, for them the compliance burden may be harder to deal with,” says Schuil of Safello.The EU’s new stance probably won’t make an impact on bitcoin’s price, either.That’s because much of the trading volume in the EU already flows through exchanges that have AML policies in place, such as Slovenia-based Bitstamp, which accounted for about 5% of all euro-bitcoin trading in the last 30 days, according to data provider Bitcoinity.bitcoin anarchyThe biggest marketplace for euro-bitcoin trading, San Francisco-based Kraken—which saw 62% of that trading volume take place in the last 30 days, according to Bitcoinity—also operates through an e-money transmitter regulated in Luxembourg, which requires identity information.delete bitcoin wallet

The EU’s new, more hands-on approach to bitcoin regulation, then, has already been priced in by the companies in the sector.The fact that once-voluntary measures are likely to become mandatory (the commission’s proposals must still be approved by the European parliament and member states) is a stamp of legitimacy for the notorious digital currency.Get email alerts Bitcoin touches record high as investors await SEC decision SEC is expected to approve or deny a proposed rule change that could clear the way for the creation of first bitcoin ETF After falling sharply earlier in the week, the bitcoin price briefly shot to a record high above $1,300 on hopes that the Securities and Exchange Commission would soon approve a proposed rule change that would clear the way for the creation of the first bitcoin-focused exchange-traded fund.bitcoin app kursThe price lingered at record levels only briefly before moving lower.bitcoin mining tips tricks

However, it remained about 5% higher intraday BTCUSD, +0.33% at $1,249.42 in recent trade, according to CoinDesk’s bitcoin price index.Friday is the deadline for the SEC to approve or deny the rule change that was proposed by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.The decision will mark the culmination of a yearslong process: The brothers first asked the SEC to approve their ETF, known as the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, back in 2013.Though many expect an explicit ruling, the SEC could clear the way for the Winklevoss ETF — which would trade on the BATS exchange under the ticker “COIN” — by essentially doing nothing: According to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, a proposed rule change “shall be deemed to have been approved by the Commission if the Commission does not approve or disapprove the proposed rule change... within the period described.” The deadline for the decision is Friday.ethereum 5000Should the SEC choose to reject the Winklevoss proposal, it wouldn’t necessarily shut the door on the creation of a bitcoin ETF: Two other firms, Grayscale Investments, the creator of the Grayscale Bitcoin Investment Trust GBTC, +3.34% , and SolidX are also vying for approval from the SEC.bitcoin 900 usd