10 Amendments of Molly SCOTT CATO related to 2016/2007(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)
Citation 13 a (new)
– having regard to the FATF’s Guidance for a Risk-Based Approach to Virtual Currencies of June 201514a; __________________ 14ahttp://www.fatf- gafi.org/documents/documents/guidance- rba-virtual-currencies.html
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point a
Paragraph 2 – point a
(a) the potential for ‘black market’ transactions, money laundering, terrorist financing24 and tax fraud based on the ‘pseudonymity’ and ‘mixing services’ that some such services offer, bearing in mind that the traceability of cash transactions tends to be much lower still; __________________ 24 While there is potential for use of VC for terrorist financing, Europol has recently (18 January 2016) pointed out that ‘despite third party reporting suggesting the use of anonymous currencies like Bitcoin by terrorists to finance their activities, this has not been confirmed by law enforcement’.
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point b
Paragraph 2 – point b
(b) the absence of flexireliable and reliablesilient governance structures, or indeed a practical definition of such structures for future regulatory purposes, both of which are needed to ensure a sufficient degree of accountability, especially in some DLT applications such as bitcoin that, which creates uncertainty and consumer protection problems, especially in case of challenges unforeseen by the original software designers;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point d a (new)
Paragraph 2 – point d a (new)
(da) notes that, according to the UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser’s report on DLT, it has been estimated that the energy requirements to run Bitcoin are in excess of 1GW and may be comparable to the electricity usage of Ireland. Calls for the research into and promotion of less energy intensive forms of ‘mining’ to ensure the future increase in VC transactions is energy efficient;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point d b (new)
Paragraph 2 – point d b (new)
(db) notes that in FATF’s guidance for a Risk-Based Approach to Virtual Currencies it is mentioned that a least one supervisor receives a growing number of enquiries on derivative and fund-like products related to Bitcoin; is of the opinion that it is premature to allow the development in derivatives on an underlying of which the nature and risks relating to price formation are so poorly understood;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Welcomes the Commission’s suggestions for including VC exchange platforms in the AMLD in particular in relation to ending the anonymity associated with the exchange of VC for real currencies; recommends further extending the scope to custodian wallet providers if and when the use of the VC(s) in question were to become so prevalent that users would no longer routinely need to exchange their VCs into legal tender;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Recommends a review of the EU legislation on payments, including PAD, PSD and EMD, in light of the new possibilities afforded by new technological developments including VCs and DLT, with a view to further enhancing competition and lowering transaction costs, including by means of enhanced interoperability and possibly also via the promotion of a universal and non- proprietary electronic wallet;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Urges particular caution when defining virtual currencies, in the context of any future legislative proposals, to take proper account of the existence of ‘local currencies’ of a not for profit nature, often having limited fungibility and performing significant social and environmental benefits and avoid disproportionate regulation in this area;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls for the creation of a horizontal Task Force DLT (TF DLT) under the leadership of the Commission, in order to provide the necessary technical and regulatory expertise to support the relevant public actors, at both EU and Member State level, in their efforts to ensure a timely and well-informed response to the new opportunities and challenges arising with the introduction of DLT applications; recommends that the task force accompany any assessment of opportunities and challenges with the associated benefits and risks to end users of the financial system to help the Commission and legislators prioritise any legislative initiatives accordingly; observes that the potential of DLT use and the present investment dynamics justify TF DLT being equipped with a proper budget and being staffed with regulators and external technical experts dedicated cross- sectorally to the monitoring of DLT-based applications, identifying standards for best practice, and, where appropriate, recommending regulatory measures and addressing potentially arising consumer protection issues and systemic challenges;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Recommends that the task force have as one of its specific objectives to define the core set of attributes of virtual currencies and DLT conducive to the general interest; believes that these should include the amenability of distributed ledgers to tools (such as open software and cloud technology) that allow easy monitoring by stakeholders, beyond direct participants and supervisory authorities, to increase the chance of detection of suspicious activities;