European Parliament Committee Passes Controversial Crypto Regulation of 'Unhosted Wallets'

cryptonews.com:

In another installment of the European Union’s discussions on the controversial Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR), theEuropean Parliament’s Committee for Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON)haspassed a controversial draft that could exert a negative impact on the industry.

The provisions could pave the way for a crackdown on so-called 'unhosted wallets', the term institutions use to refer to regular wallets.

Fearing the legislation’s potentially destructive impact on the sector, crypto industry representatives and bodies such as Global Digital Finance (GDF) have called on the members of the European Parliament to adopt a proportionate approach to 'unhosted wallets,' reinstate the EUR 1,000 threshold and remove blanket reporting to competent authorities and extend the phase-in period.

In line with earlier expectations, the Socialists and Democrats, the second-largest group in the parliament, as well as far left and green MEPs voted in favor of some of the controversial measures. The European People’s Party (EPP), the largest group, opposed them.

However, a split among liberal, conservative, and far-right lawmakers has paved the way for the controversial measures’ approval by the committee, as indicated by voting results obtained by Patrick Hansen, Head of Strategy and Business Development at Unstoppable Finance.

Following the vote, the regulation could either be moved to a plenary vote by the 705 European lawmakers from 27 member states, or be submitted directly for informal tripartite discussions, also known as trilogues, which could end with a provisional agreement on the draft legislation. A potential agreement that could be reached between EU institutions will be informal, and it will require to be formally approved by