Projecting ‘Orange Pill’ on banks as EU drives crypto regulation

“The signal goes on, and he shows up. That’s the way it’s been. That’s the way it will be.” Whenever Gotham faces an existential threat, the Bat-Signal lights up the night sky. In the DC Comics universe, Batman always shows up to save the day when he’s called upon.

Bitcoiners in Germany employed a similar tactic this week, emblazoning the preeminent cryptocurrency’s logo with a message to ‘study Bitcoin’ on the side of the European Central Bank building in Frankfurt. The images were shared widely across social media, with notable Bitcoin (BTC) proponents and various company profiles lauding the display.

#Bitcoin looks good on the ECB building pic.twitter.com/k8odYEpAZd

— Alistair Milne (@alistairmilne) March 30, 2023

A dose of the proverbial ‘Orange Pill’ is particularly pertinent given that the global banking sector has been under the spotlight after the collapse of major institutions like Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the U.S.

Orange pilling #Europe: Study #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/CBcsh1T5VZ

— Carl ₿ MENGER ⚡️ (@CarlBMenger) March 30, 2023

Meanwhile, European parliamentarians adopted a new draft bill focused on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism, which sets out potential new rules enforcing KYC requirements for traditional financial and crypto-related services.

In addition, parliamentarians seek to restrict cash and cryptocurrency payments for goods and services where customers cannot be identified. As per the draft legislation, the rules limit cash payments to up to €7,000 for cryptocurrency transactions —or €1,000 if the user’s identity is unknown.

Related: Silicon Valley Bank’s downfall has many causes, but crypto isn’t one

These proposed new rules are separate to the European Parliament’s impending Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) bill which is set to come into effect in 2024, a proposed set of rules and guidelines aimed at regulating the cryptocurrency market in Europe.

Liam Murphy, Managing Director of EMEA at Wachsman, tells Cointelegraph that the AML-CFT bill adopted on March 28 is focused on approving stricter rules to close gaps in combating money laundering, terrorist financing and the evasion of sanctions in the EU.

“It is a separate policy track to MiCA although like with many policy actions, there is some crossover. It should be noted that this was just one more step in the regulatory process and the bill is far from passed yet.”

Murphy added that he was…