European Union inks deal on crypto transfer tracing rules

LONDON (AP) — The European Union has agreed on new rules subjecting cryptocurrency transfers to the same money-laundering rules as traditional banking transfers. EU negotiators signed a provisional agreement late Wednesday for the 27-nation bloc’s first rules on tracing transfers of crypto assets like bitcoin. They’re aimed at clamping down on illicit transfers and blocking suspicious transactions. When a crypto asset changes hands, information on both the source and the beneficiary would have to be stored on both sides of the transfer. EU negotiators also are set to hammer out final details late Thursday on a separate deal for a sweeping package of crypto regulations that could become the global model in reining in the freewheeling industry as prices have plunged.