Following the unsuccessful campaign by some European Parliament (EP) members to ban proof-of-work (PoW) consensus protocol-powered cryptoassets, the crypto industry is now targeting a potential crackdown on so-called "unhosted wallets" in the European Union’s forthcoming Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR).
Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at crypto exchange giant Coinbase, said in a statement, that
“If adopted, this revision would unleash an entire surveillance regime on exchanges like Coinbase, stifle innovation, and undermine the self-hosted wallets that individuals use to securely protect their digital assets."
Grewal further noted that the vote would likely take place this week and that time is running out.
In the view of Adam Back, CEO of Canada-based blockchain technology firm Blockstream, the draft includes “Orwellian doublespeak.”
“[L]et’s just call wallets, wallets shall we,” he said, adding that “the IOUs they can call hosted wallets if they want.”
Some lawmakers in the US are also targeting "unhosted wallets."
“These terms are propaganda with sinister intent,” Bitcoin educator and entrepreneur Andreas M. Antonopoulos said last year.
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