Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are characterized by their anonymity, with neither payers nor payees required to identify themselves and the system open for anybody to use. Regulators believe this makes them attractive to criminals.
"The Commission proposes to bring virtual currency exchange platforms under the scope of the anti-money laundering directive, so that these platforms have to apply customer due-diligence controls when exchanging virtual for real currencies, ending the anonymity associated with such exchanges," the European Commission said in a news release in February.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/02/will-terror-attacks-end-bitcoin-free-for-all-in-europe.html
