The Dutch central bank threatens crypto companies!

Dutch crypto companies will have to register with the Dutch central bank by May 18 or immediately cease operations, the monetary authority said Monday May 4. But to whom is the norm addressed? And why such a tight notice?

A norm that affects companies that convert the crypto-fiat pair

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) is moving to rapidly enforce the strengthened Dutch anti-money laundering laws (AML), which the Dutch Parliament approved last month to comply with the AML directives and standards of the European Union established by the Financial Action Task Force .

The rapid adaptation to DNB regulations – the Dutch Upper House approved the "amended" laws of the fourth anti-money laundering directive (AMLD4) on April 21 – threatens companies that convert cryptocurrencies and fiat or offer encrypted custody services with immediate orders of termination and withdrawal if they do not register before the deadline of 18 May imposed by Parliament. For crypto-to-crypto companies, however, registration is not required.

Some small companies will have to close their doors

The announcement of the new deadline in a very short time arrives as the Dutch cryptocurrency companies express heavy criticisms of a law that they define onerous for the sector in general.

In their lengthy deliberations on the implementation of the EU AMLD5, the companies say that DNB and the Ministry of Finance have put pressure on small companies, even forcing some of them to close their doors.

It was not immediately clear why DNB and Parliament cited the "fourth anti-money laundering directive" amended by the EU in their respective declarations and laws instead of the most recent directive, AMLD5.

At the moment there are no clarifications from the DNB and Parliament on this issue. Companies that fail to register "must therefore cease existing activities" on May 18 and risk fines and "law enforcement actions", wrote the bank in his press release. The release also indicated that a draft application would be sufficient to meet registration needs for the mid-May date.

Unusually strict notice for the application of the rule

This call to action appears to formalize a similar registration notice sent in September 2019, months after the EU published its fifth EU anti-money laundering directive, but before the Dutch Parliament had agreed on its version.

The AMLD5 standard has given EU member states until 10 January to implement the directive. But the Dutch parliament did not intervene on its AML laws until April 21st. This unjustified delay, in addition to the central bank's previous request for registration, may have prompted DNB to set unusually tight two-week notice.

And you trade with registered companies to exchange your cryptocurrencies? And do you use automatic trading programs like Bitcoin Pro? Let us know in the comments below what you think.