European Parliament to Apply Anti-Money Laundering Laws to NFT Platforms

An argument has been made that anti-money laundering (AML) regulations should be applied to non-fungible token (NFT) trading platforms.

According to CoinDesk on the 5th, and on the 4th (local time), members of the European Parliament (EP) proposed an amendment to the MiCA that states that NFT exchanges must be subject to the AML law of the European Union (EU). The amendment requires NFT platforms such as OpenSea to establish a system that can verify the identity of NFT sellers and buyers and to assess the risk of illegal financial transactions.

Earlier last week, EU policymakers agreed on the Mika Act, the first European regulation of virtual assets in two years. However, the sector on the NFT was not included in the agreement on the grounds that “multiple persons may own a portion of the NFT”. Accordingly, it seems that the Mika amendment bill was proposed to regulate the NFT platform similar to that of cryptocurrency exchanges.

Meanwhile, some European lawmakers appear to be looking for ways to utilize the Mika amendment to apply the AML law to cryptocurrency wallets and decentralized organizations (DAOs) of individuals who are not registered with regulatory authorities. However, some oppose this, arguing that “investors should be able to diversify their portfolios and protect themselves from the risk of inflation due to the decisions of the European Central Bank (ECB).”