Lithuania Strictens The Regulation on Anonymous Wallet

• The growth of crypto companies in Lithuania is exponential, number is 252 at present.
• The banning will cut off the money laundry and anti-social financial activities.

The European Union (EU) is in a way to take a strong stand on banishing the suspicious anonymity of the cryptocurrency. As an inaugural to that Lithuania has banned the unidentified crypto-wallets and imposed stricter KYC rules.

On June 8th, the country’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has approved the amendment to the law related to Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, along with a partnership from the Bank of Lithuania (LB), the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT), the Money Laundering Prevention Competence Center.

According to the Stats, the toughened regulation in Estonia rules has made crypto companies shift to the neighboring Lithuania nation. Exponential growth can be seen in their numbers, in 2020 it was 8, whereas in 2021 it was 188, and in the first half of 2022 40 companies have been initiated. 

Peek into Law

The initial capital for authorized service providers has increased to 125k Euros, and from Feb 1, 2023, the list of operating entities in the crypto market will be listed in a public portal. The standard of the managing personality in the cryptographic market will also be set high to maintain the volatile market.

Gintarė Skaistė, Finance Minister, states:

“The proposed changes will ensure greater transparency and higher quality standards in the sector, contributing to the sustainable integration of the cryptographic asset segment into the country’s wider Fintech ecosystem.”

These amendments are expected to increase the security against money laundering and financing for terrorist activities. This will increase the risk for transactions among anonymous crypto wallets and secure the reputation of the state in the international market.