The EU just passed wallet regulations that expand Know Your Customer requirements.
The new regulations require your financial institution, like Coinbase, to know the owner of any unhosted wallet that you transact with using your Coinbase wallet. Following are a couple quotes reflecting concerns by crypto fans with my counterpoints.
Different from the initial proposal that only required to collect (not verify) personal data from transfers made from/to an unhosted wallet, the draft now requires to “verify the accuracy of information with respect to the originator or beneficiary behind the unhosted wallet”
Create a self-managed wallet and verify your identity with Coinbase (or whoever) just like you did when you signed up for your managed account. Send $50,000 from your Coinbase-hosted wallet to your self-managed wallet, then use it to transact with unverified wallets.
The only change here is that your Coinbase-managed wallet isn’t directly connected to the unverified wallets. It adds one hop and one extra identity verification. As a bonus, it shields Coinbase from liability for any shady business their customers get up to.
One year after entry into application, the EU commission will assess the need of “additional specific measures to mitigate the risks posed by transfers from or to unhosted wallets, including the introduction of possible restrictions.”
The commission had an opportunity to put transaction restrictions in place and chose not to. They’re leaving the door open to put restrictions in place in the future, but that’s no change from yesterday. They didn’t restrict transactions. This is a win.