Brussels, 26/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - European rules on virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin and the Blockchain technology that underpins them, are not necessary at this point, the European Parliament decided in adopting the draft von Weizsäcker report (see EUROPE 11540) on Thursday 26 May.
Virtual currencies must not be stifled but the technology should be monitored, with the Commission establishing a task force to track how it develops, said German Social Democratic MEP Jacob von Weizsäcker, the previous day during the debate in plenary session. The task force would monitor how the technology evolves without curbing its ability significantly to reduce the cost of financial transaction but ensuring that it is not used for criminal purposes.
Agreeing that there is no need always to regulate, Financial Services Commissioner Jonathan Hill also called for vigilance to be able better to track transactions carried out using these virtual currency platforms. He said that the task force could come into being as part of the forthcoming review of the rules on the funding of terrorism and money laundering.
The Blockchain is a decentralised database, stored on multiple servers which allows for rapid and rather secure verification and documentation of transactions without a central clearing party, according to a press release from the rapporteur. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)