Will EU ban Bitcoin?

[Helena Yu]

Bitcoin isn't a privacy coin, so the answer will be no.

I would think it could lead to ban if EU banks aren't accepting funds related to Bitcoin/cryptocurrency.

While the other regulations like ban the usage of Bitcoin as legal tender, tightening the regulations, or not allowing merchants to accept Bitcoin shouldn't lead to ban. They still accept Bitcoin, but they just wanted to make they don't receive tainted coins and treat them as a commodity.

[Felicity_Tide]

~snip

If they indeed continue to be restrictive when it comes to crypto, what do you think could be the consequences especially when a lot of other countries are openly embracing bitcoin?

I don't know why, but I'm confident that they can't put a stop to Bitcoin.
You see, what the EU are after is just the financial privacy when you try to look at the whole context. Bitcoin transaction can certainly be traced, but their intentions to impose same rules on every existing Cryptocurrency (both privacy and none privacy), means that there are other agendas.

Do you think that EU is doing the right thing or will they just go back on their words after seeing other countries get ahead with bitcoin?

They certainly know that they are doing the wrong thing, that looks almost right in the eyes of the law.
They can't control Bitcoin,
They don't have any back door access
They don't decide who gets and who doesn't.

So, we shouldn't expect anything less than tough regulations.

[piffie]

No.

Also not what they want - they rather want to make sure that trades with bitcoin are compliant (if thats good or bad is another discussion).

The key thing here is "AML Compliant sources"  - they want to make sure that every trade that goes into EU accounts, bank accounts, etc are accounted for and have the correct AML provision.
As this is their humble idea of how to fight money laundring and organized crime.
So they will make it harder for EU citizen and Institutions to buy and sell Bitcoin on non-compliant ecosystems and partners.

Let's say you earned some BTC from a DAO, and want to turn it into Euros, you will have to trade with an EU compliant counterparty, that will verify that your wallet have not been part in the past of suspicious activities, and if so, will accept your trade. Then from this counterparty (i.e. a CEX, or a off-ramp) you can receive Euros (or BTC on your EU-compliant platform).

In the end, this will result in a dual ecosystem, an EU-compliant one, and non-compliant. but trades between both will exist, and allways be possible.
Similar to the dark web, and the normal web - they exist on the same internet.

[DeathAngel]

No I don’t think they’ll ban Bitcoin but that doesn’t mean they won’t do everything in their power to make it more difficult to use Bitcoin & other cryptocurrencies. They have already made it difficult to navigate both on & off ramps. They have fiat bank withdrawal to exchange limits. They are desperate to usher in a CBDC. Self custody is your saviour.

[FortuneFollower]

No I don’t think they’ll ban Bitcoin but that doesn’t mean they won’t do everything in their power to make it more difficult to use Bitcoin & other cryptocurrencies. They have already made it difficult to navigate both on & off ramps. They have fiat bank withdrawal to exchange limits. They are desperate to usher in a CBDC. Self custody is your saviour.

I hope CBDC won't be the thing that would be embraced in the end - because it would be so much worse than BTC in the long run..

[moneystery]

the possibility for europe to ban bitcoin is very small, because if you look at the development of bitcoin globally it is currently good, and i think they don't want to miss this moment. but even so, we will see that the regulation of bitcoin and crypto will be tightened... for example they will regulate all exchanges in europe and not allow any platform to operate without being fully licensed and compliant with strict know your customer and anti-money laundering requirements.. meaning all transactions will probably be monitored and crypto holders will be required to verify the identity.

[shield132]

In my personal opinion, as a person living in West Europe the EU never liked crypto... They're always trying to make the rules more strict, force more KYC/AML, restrict us whenever they can.  Will they back down? My gut feeling says they won't. They don't like what they cannot controll.

But then again, i don't have a crystal ball to predict the future, i could be completely wrong.

Don't they understand that it's not a smart choice? If the EU bans Bitcoin or doesn't become Bitcoin-friendly, then other countries will attract investors and workforce from the EU. Myhe country is a good example of that. Binance, Tether and other companies put lots of money in crypto projects because my country is very crypto-friendly and tax rates for similar businesses are very low, they have the option to hire local people in a way that they'll pay 1% tax on their salary, it gives business the possibility to offer competitive net salary.
Bitcoin is the innovation of the 21st century. If rich countries let it go, then some poor countries like mine will use that opportunity. I don't understand why they make such mistakes over and over again.

[d5000]

Recently, it has been reported that they are planning on implementing anti money laundering rules which includes the banning of anonymous cryptocurrency accounts. They will also not be allowing privacy preserving cryptocurrencies like Monero.

I also don't like the AMLR at all, but it has to be clarified that some privacy coin services are only banned for crypto service providers. The wording also doesn't prohibit privacy coins accounts per se, but it prohibits to offer accounts based on privacy coin technology which allow you to hide identities and transactions. This is a subtle difference, but there may be allowed to offer accounts for XMR and friends if the client for example can prove the origin of the funds. Many of these EU regulations are based on FATF guidelines.

I would however not mix this with the discussion about the GDPR and data protection. There is a better article about the problem on Forbes.

The funny thing about that is that the EU is proposing anonymization techniques which conflict with the AMLR approach. So if things go completely wrong, it would be legal in the EU only to run full nodes of privacy coins like Monero because they respect the GDPR, but you couldn't sell the coins transferred on these chains on centralized exchanges operating in the EU area but only via P2P...

I wonder if stealth addresses would solve that problem; probably they would if they were as "stealthy" as on Monero, but I think the "Bitcoin stealth addresses" in the vein of BIP 47 payment codes may not be enough.

PS: This reddit post, I think, "gets it" best, the problem is that addresses can be linked to identities. It is this link that would have to be removed ideally. Companies would thus have to be aware to never store such a link on any chain or anywhere where it could be hacked; KYC data would have to be erased once the proof of identity is obtained, for example.

[Fundamentals Of]

Can they? Aside from implementing strict regulations against Bitcoin, what else can they do? They cannot restrict every citizen from buying and keeping Bitcoin. They cannot do that. It is beyond their power.

The EU will only be frustrated if they are determined to wage war against Bitcoin. They cannot stop Bitcoin. They cannot disable it from their territory. Their policies can only do so much. If an EU resident is convinced of Bitcoin and likes to get some, their policies cannot stop him.

[davis196]

If they indeed continue to be restrictive when it comes to crypto, what do you think could be the consequences especially when a lot of other countries are openly embracing bitcoin? Do you think that EU is doing the right thing or will they just go back on their words after seeing other countries get ahead with bitcoin?

The only consequence I can think of is more European citizens using the services of non-EU crypto companies.
Banning privacy coins was pretty much expected, but I can't imagine how the EU is going to effectively ban cold wallets or Bitcoin in general.
Maybe the European banks and investment funds won't be allowed to buy crypto or to provide crypto related services to their customers.
The idea of the EU banning Bitcoin seems more like a fantasy at this point. Maybe this news/rumors/gossips have something to do with the implementation of the "digital euro".

[kotajikikox]

No I don’t think they’ll ban Bitcoin but that doesn’t mean they won’t do everything in their power to make it more difficult to use Bitcoin & other cryptocurrencies. They have already made it difficult to navigate both on & off ramps. They have fiat bank withdrawal to exchange limits. They are desperate to usher in a CBDC. Self custody is your saviour.

This is exactly what they seem to be heading towards. They might give off the impression that they support bitcoin or crypto but the truth is not really. Maybe they are planning to launch their own crypto coin or platform? So that their citizens have no choice to use theirs if just out of convenience since it’s so difficult to use other cryptocurrencies in their region anyway.

[fuguebtc]

Don't they understand that it's not a smart choice? If the EU bans Bitcoin or doesn't become Bitcoin-friendly, then other countries will attract investors and workforce from the EU. Myhe country is a good example of that. Binance, Tether and other companies put lots of money in crypto projects because my country is very crypto-friendly and tax rates for similar businesses are very low, they have the option to hire local people in a way that they'll pay 1% tax on their salary, it gives business the possibility to offer competitive net salary.
Bitcoin is the innovation of the 21st century. If rich countries let it go, then some poor countries like mine will use that opportunity. I don't understand why they make such mistakes over and over again.

I don't think the EU will ban bitcoin but if they do, I don't think it will make them backward and poorer than countries that are open to bitcoin/crypto.

Each country's economy will function differently and they will evaluate the impact of bitcoin (pros and cons) on their economy and make decisions accordingly. Bitcoin is an initiative but that initiative needs to fit in with the country's economy, if it doesn't fit then there is no need to adopt it or it can wait for a more appropriate time. Like China, they don't need bitcoin for years but they are still the 2nd largest economy in the world. Meanwhile, countries that have adopted bitcoin like El Salvador still cannot escape poverty...What I mean is, a country's economic future is determined by many factors, it is not determined by bitcoin or any single factor.

[Lucius]

In my personal opinion, as a person living in West Europe the EU never liked crypto... They're always trying to make the rules more strict, force more KYC/AML, restrict us whenever they can.  Will they back down? My gut feeling says they won't. They don't like what they cannot controll.

But then again, i don't have a crystal ball to predict the future, i could be completely wrong.

As someone who lives in the east of the EU, I haven't had that impression until now, because there is still a politics here that is essentially very corrupt and "infected" with old communist ideas packaged in fake democracies - and until now their policy has been to steal as much as possible for themselves, so they haven't paid too much attention to what ordinary people are doing.

However, the "West" is very aggressively pressuring the "East" to implement the measures that were voted in the EU Parliament, so that by the end of this year, some laws that have not been in full force until now will be expressed in the majority of EU member states.

As far as I'm concerned, the EU or anyone else can ban whatever they want even today, because BTC didn't ask for their permission, nor are they even important in the whole story. The fact that many years ago they decided to withdraw the EUR 500 banknote because someone concluded that it was being used by terrorists - which later turned out to be complete nonsense - shows how intelligent the EU bureaucrats are.

[dkbit98]

EU is going crazy these days but I don't think they are going to ban Bitcoin yet.
There is however a chance they are going to try to ban cash first, I just saw Spain is now not allowing people to withdraw more than 3,000 euros from their own bank account.  
And EU also announced digital euro release in October of this year, so they are obviously going to add more restrictions in future for bitcoin transactions and exchanges.
More crazy laws are just a sign of empire getting closer to collapse.

[Stalker22]

Im not so sure the EU is gonna outright ban Bitcoin, even if the officials keep making noises about more oversight.  Adoption is expanding quick, so that train is already left the station.  but yeah, some of those proposed regulations sure seem heavy-handed. and  Like I heard they might ban privacy coins? - by 2027.  And that whole new MiCA thing kicking in is heaping on a mess of hoops for crypto companies to jump through.  Feels almost like they want to discourage folks from getting into it even if they cant just up and ban it. 

I dunno.  We shall see where this goes.  But Bitcoin got momentum now.  Be pretty hard to stop it outright, regulations or no.  Governments move slow though.  So reckon there will be a whole lot more back-and-forth before this gets settled.

[kotajikikox]

I dunno.  We shall see where this goes.  But Bitcoin got momentum now.  Be pretty hard to stop it outright, regulations or no. 

If a government tries to announce a restriction ban at this time, will bitcoin go down in price? Maybe only by a bit. But even if they ban it, we know that bitcoin will just continue to increase in value. Though those who live in the area where bitcoin is restricted will be the ones concerned.

Governments move slow though.  So reckon there will be a whole lot more back-and-forth before this gets settled.

You are right. We may not see it manifest itself next year let alone this year. These are just speculations of what could happen in the future.

[Akbarkoe]

EU is going crazy these days but I don't think they are going to ban Bitcoin yet.
There is however a chance they are going to try to ban cash first, I just saw Spain is now not allowing people to withdraw more than 3,000 euros from their own bank account.  
And EU also announced digital euro release in October of this year, so they are obviously going to add more restrictions in future for bitcoin transactions and exchanges.
More crazy laws are just a sign of empire getting closer to collapse.

Yes, they will carry out continuous restrictions for their citizens, after the incident does make them take them that they need to limit things that make them lose themselves, but forbidting Bitcoin is not a solution for today, because it will make them lose more sophisticated times with the revolution carried by Bitcoin.

Simple logic, when humans continue to be limited without being given a solution then they will rebel slowly, we might see Europe lag before screaming.

[mindrust]

If they can’t stop bitcoin with the KYC AML, yeah they will probably do that next. The worst part is, if they can’t stop successfully enforce KYC AML on every business that operates in the EU, that won’t be much different than banning bitcoin as you won’t be able to purchase or sell bitcoin using FIAT unless you provide your documents. That’s not bitcoin. That’s not crypto. I didn’t sign for any of this bullshit and I refuse to use any KYC AML enabled service as long as there is an alternative.

We need to unite and fight that madness. Use our platforms like bisq. Don’t use centralized exchanges.

[MinoRaiola]

The regulations are not good for bitcoin hodlers, but it wont change the fact that there will be more people who want to own bitcoin in the future. For the EU, it looks to me like they also want to own bitcoin, but they dont want to pay for it. If they create regulations that make it possible to freeze bitcoin or make it difficult for exchanges, then it will probably cost a few bitcoin in the end... and these will go to the EU, or the countrys. This is maybe nonsense, but the possibility exists.

[takuma sato]

What kind of nonsense are you talking about OP seriously.

I get that we can discuss EU's view on digital assets, and there is a regulation already in place. We all know that, there are other things unknown such as what exact kinds of tax will be in future when it is transnational transactions, like me and a guy from EU, for example if I decide to gift or tip him BTC. And we established 15 years ago Bitcoin is NOT anonymous, you even wrote yourself the address already by itself identifies you.

But banning BTC? Are you just purposely acting dumb or?

They may not strictly ban it, since banning things is seen as authoritarian and really goes against the EU-ethos you could say, but they could cripple it's usage to the point it becomes non-viable, so everyone doing business in BTC will just move to other countries. In example, some EU countries are taxing nuclear power plants so heavily that it becomes non-viable as a business. Technically, they are not banning it, but they are doing it in a way that it becomes a waste of money for the people involved, so they just stop doing it, and at that point you either stop doing it alltogether and find another business, or move to another country where things are not a nightmare. So the EU will have to choose what they want to do. If BTC becomes a global reserve, then the EU will look dumb by not having frontrunned this move and will not be invited to negotiations table since they will hold no power, as we have seen similarly with the whole Russia-Ukraine war. Since they are not a nuclear powerhouse, they are not taken seriously. Only now they have started talking about developing nuclear weapons. So it may be the case that the EU ends up forced to buy BTC at some point in the future and revert the anti-BTC policies eventually.