Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Bitcoin Price Slides amid EU Call to Make Transfers Traceable, and Rise of ‘Stablecoins’

THE GUARDIAN: European regulator want banks to hold personal details of cryptocurrency clients, while US wants swift work to establish less volatile ‘stablecoins’

Bitcoin has slipped below $30,000 as calls grew among regulators in the US, Europe and Asia for tighter checks on cryptocurrencies, and the less volatile digi-currency known as “stablecoins”.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency fell as much as 5% to $29,300, its lowest since 22 June, and investors said it was likely to test the $28,600 level touched last month, its lowest since early January, as it faced a variety of regulatory headwinds. Smaller cryptocurrencies such as ether and XRP also lost around 5%.

On Tuesday, European regulators outlined plans to make cryptocurrencies more traceable as part of a wider crackdown on money-laundering in the bloc.

The European Commission said companies handling virtual assets, such as bitcoin, should become subject to anti-money laundering rules, along with transparency requirements for transfers of crypto assets. » | Martin Farrer | Wednesday, July 21, 2021