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Homebcwg-admin2025-10-24T16:55:41+02:00

THE BLOCKCHAIN AND VIRTUAL CURRENCIES WORKING GROUP

The Blockchain and Virtual Currencies Working Group (WG) is a group of industry representatives; the WG is registered in the European Transparency register under number: 635727423661-17

The Members of the Blockchain and Virtual Currencies Working Group (WG) adhere to the following Ethical Guidelines.

ABOUT US_DEF3

OUR MEMBERS

Amdax

Bitpace

BitPay

Bitrefill

Bitvavo

BVNK

CryptoProcessing

Zodia custody

OUR AIMS

Educational/working with European regulators

We foster an industry-led conversation
We help to shape the regulation in a way that does not stifle innovation
We work with regulators; information sharing is fundamental to achieve balanced and forward looking regulation

To monitor

Which regulatory initiatives concern us?

To influence the EU regulators work

Can we help in drafting the content of such initiatives?

To advice internally on EU matters

Tool for each WG member General Counsel/ Compliance officer

OUR POSITIONING

Engage with:

The European Commission
The European Central Bank
The European Banking Authority
European Parliament
European Presidency of the Union
Key Member States Permanent Representations in the Council WG on Financial Services

In terms of AML policy:

EU AML rules shall be applied to digital currency exchange platforms equally
EU AML should not be applied to non-custodian software wallet providers
The WG wishes a risk based approach

Means:

Meetings with key EU regulators
Membership of the PSMEG (Payment Systems Market Expert Group)
Position papers on digital currencies and the blockchain addressed to the regulators

Regulation if appropriate can:

Increase the credibility of industry
Increase customer confidence
Allow for a level playing field

IN THE NEWS TODAY

Publication of the Final Act of the Regulation establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLAR) in the Official Journal of the European Union, 19 June 2024

Publication of the Final Act of the Regulation establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLAR) in the Official Journal of the European Union, 19 June 2024

bcwg-admin2024-07-12T09:31:52+02:00June 19th, 2024|Tags: AML package, AMLA, AMLAR, EU Official Journal, FIUs, Publication, Regulation, Sanctions, Supervisory Powers|

On 19 June 2024, the Final Act of the AMLAR was published in the Official Journal of the [...]

EBA publication of the final draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) and Guidelines on prudential matters under MiCAR, 13 June 2024

EBA publication of the final draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) and Guidelines on prudential matters under MiCAR, 13 June 2024

bcwg-admin2024-06-18T12:29:24+02:00June 13th, 2024|Tags: ARTs, Draft RTS, EBA, EMTs, Guidelines, Liquidity requirements, MiCAR, Own funds requirements, Recovery Plans, Reserve of Assets, Stress Testing|

On 13 June 2024, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published the package of final draft RTS and Guidelines [...]

EBA publication of Guidelines on governance and final draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on remuneration and conflicts of interest (CoI) under MiCAR, 6 June 2024

EBA publication of Guidelines on governance and final draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on remuneration and conflicts of interest (CoI) under MiCAR, 6 June 2024

bcwg-admin2024-06-18T11:51:22+02:00June 6th, 2024|Tags: ARTs, Conflict of Interest, Draft RTS, EBA, EMTs, Governance, Guidelines, MiCAR, Remuneration|

On 6 June 2024, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published Guidelines on the minimum content of the governance [...]

ESAs publication of templates and tools for a voluntary dry run exercise to support the implementation of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), 31 May 2024

ESAs publication of templates and tools for a voluntary dry run exercise to support the implementation of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), 31 May 2024

bcwg-admin2024-06-03T16:28:40+02:00May 31st, 2024|Tags: DORA, Dry Run Exercise, EBA, EIOPA, ESMA, Financial Entities, Implementation, Templates, Workshop|

On 31 May 2024, the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), namely the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), [...]

ESMA Final Report on draft technical standards specifying certain requirements in relation to conflicts of interest for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) under MiCA, 31 May 2024

ESMA Final Report on draft technical standards specifying certain requirements in relation to conflicts of interest for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) under MiCA, 31 May 2024

bcwg-admin2024-07-25T17:09:33+02:00May 31st, 2024|Tags: CASPs, Conflict of Interest, Draft RTS, EBA, ESMA, European Commission, IARTs, MiCA, Regulatory Technical Standards|

On 31 May 2024, ESMA published its final report on draft technical standards specifying certain requirements in relation [...]

Publication of the European Commission Delegated Regulation 2024/1506/EU supplementing Regulation 2023/1114/EU (MiCAR) by specifying certain criteria for classifying asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs) as significant in the Official Journal of the European Union, 30 May 2024

Publication of the European Commission Delegated Regulation 2024/1506/EU supplementing Regulation 2023/1114/EU (MiCAR) by specifying certain criteria for classifying asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs) as significant in the Official Journal of the European Union, 30 May 2024

bcwg-admin2024-07-22T09:27:22+02:00May 30th, 2024|Tags: Delegated Regulation, EBA, EU Official Journal, European Commission, MiCAR, Publication, Significance assessment, Significant ARTs, Significant EMTs|

On 30 May 2024, the European Commission Delegated Regulation 2024/1506/EU supplementing MiCAR was published in the Official Journal [...]

OUR TEAM

Monica Monaco

Monica MonacoSecretary

Mauro Lorenzo Halve

Mauro Lorenzo HalveMember (Amdax)

Dany Wieken

Dany WiekenMember (Bitonic)

Natalia Posada

Natalia PosadaMember (Bitpace)

Anjela Kalenova

Anjela KalenovaMember (Bitpace)

Alisa Komarova

Alisa KomarovaMember (BitPay)

Themistokis Klapadakis

Themistokis KlapadakisMember (BitPay)

Momchil Tsvetkov

Momchil TsvetkovMember (BitPay)

Aart Jan Thomas de Jong

Aart Jan Thomas de JongMember (BitPay)

Jonathan Arler

Jonathan ArlerMember (BitPay)

João Marecos

João MarecosMember (Bitrefill)

Helen Beijaard

Helen BeijaardMember (Bitvavo)

Ivars Zukovskis

Ivars ZukovskisMember (BVNK)

Benjamin Buergi

Benjamin BuergiMember (Cardano Foundation)

Nicolas Jacquemart

Nicolas JacquemartMember (Cardano Foundation)

Dmitrijus Borisenka

Dmitrijus BorisenkaMember (CoinGate)

Dovile Marcikoniene

Dovile MarcikonieneMember (CoinGate)

Luc Smits van Oyen

Luc Smits van OyenMember (Coinmerce)

Nikola Peliova

Nikola PeliovaMember (Coinmerce)

Max Krupyshev

Max KrupyshevMember (CryptoProcessing)

Violaine Champetier de Ribes

Violaine Champetier de RibesMember (CoinsPaid - CryptoProcessing)

Valentyna Savchuk

Valentyna SavchukMember (Cryptopay)

Maria Akulenko

Maria AkulenkoMember (Cryptopay)

Dimitrij Gede

Dimitrij GedeMember (Cryptopay)

Jem Tatar

Jem TatarMember (Zodia Custody)

Paul de Ruiter

Paul de RuiterMember (Zodia Custody)

DO YOU WISH TO CONTACT US? WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO HEAR FROM YOU

Contact us

Do you want to learn more about the Blockchain and Virtual Currencies Working Group? Please contact us!