🇪🇺 The EU Puts Pressure on Crypto

Discover the news of the week [View in Browser]( [Gif Ledger Bites]( 01/04/2022 This is the kind of story we, at Ledger, never like to hear. Stories of ETH, BTC or NFTs disappearing, without their owner understanding why. Well, it's time for everybody to understand. [Watch and learn]( from the unfortunate story of Stazie, a NFT collector who lost Punks through a phishing attack, and from our Chief Tech Officer Charles Guillemet. [How I Got Hacked, Episode 3… It’s right here.]( [Figures] [blockchain.com]( [Shina Inu]( Crypto assets can be managed on your Ledger Live! [Go check now →]( [In the know] [Visa unveils an NFT creator program.]( “We want to help this new breed of small and micro businesses tap into new mediums for digital commerce (...) NFTs are a new form of e-commerce,” said Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto. [Inflation skyrockets in Sudan while the Central Bank warns against crypto.]( The country has faced three-digit inflation rates since the 2021 military coup, but the Central Bank cautioned citizens against “the high risk” that cryptos pose. [A US Senator calls for a US CBDC.]( The Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren said “it’s time for us to move in that direction” before adding that “a lot of banks do wrong, we could improve that in a digital world.” Is the US CBDC approaching? [Axie Infinity faces one of the largest hacks in history.]( More than $625 million worth of cryptocurrency has been stolen from Axie’s blockchain, called Ronin. Axie’s COO said they are “fully committed to reimbursing players as soon as possible.” [OpenSea to begin listing Solana NFTs in April.]( In a video tweeted by OpenSea, called “the best kept secret in Web3,” the NFT platform teased Solana’s upcoming arrival. It would become the third layer 1 and fourth blockchain to join the marketplace. [A “decentralized wireless network” raises $200 million.]( The company, called Helium, is building a crypto-powered decentralized wireless network that provides bandwidth and collects data from IoT devices. Wanna share our Biiiiiites with a friend ? [Send →]( [Insight of the week] EU’s Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR): A Threat To The Web3 Ecosystem [BTC x UE] A new regulation was just voted on, paving the way to a massive surveillance regime over Europe's financial landscape. Although it isn’t definitive yet, this regulation goes against the values of privacy, decentralization & financial freedom at the heart of blockchain technologies. What is this new regulation about? The Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR) aims to prevent payment systems from being used to launder money or finance terrorism. While it was initially applied to traditional payment systems, it is now being expanded to crypto assets. In short,[the proposals will]( “extend anti-money laundering requirements that apply to conventional payments to the crypto sector” and create a system where even the smallest transactions would need to be identified with sensitive information sent to EU and national AML authorities. This would create a digital registry of identified wallet addresses enabling these agencies to monitor EU citizens’ transactions in real time. For Seth Hertlein, Head of Public Policy at Ledger, this regulatory proposal is built on false assumptions: “Money laundering accounted for just 0.05% of all cryptocurrency transaction volume in 2021[according to Chainalysis]( while[the UN estimates]( the amount laundered every year through fiat currency is up to 5% of global GDP - more than 232 times greater than the amount laundered through crypto.” For Pascal Gauthier, CEO of Ledger, “the EU has chosen fear over freedom. EU representatives are missing that this digital shift has the potential to create thousands of jobs and a vibrant industry on European soil.” The EU’s Digital Sovereignty is at stake With this new regulation on the horizon, many crypto enthusiasts fear that EU policymakers fail to understand that cryptocurrencies are much more than volatile and casino-like assets. Some also argue that past mistakes during the early internet era are being repeated in the crypto revolution, hereby preventing the EU from leading this rapidly-expanding digital shift. In contrast, the US has recently shown ambitions to lead the game through a comprehensive policy approach. “In the last few months we have started to witness Republicans and Democrats talking more with an informed, non-partisan approach,” with possibilities “to become a very powerful policy tool for both the House and the Senate,”[said]( US Congressman, Tom Emmer. Likewise, a comprehensive legal framework will be key for Europe’s digital future. For EU representatives, the opportunity to understand that Web3 is the next revolution of the Internet is both historical and decisive. [I wanna know more] Why is the EU’s Transfer of Funds (TFR) regulation a threat to financial freedom? Learn everything about Ledger’s policy position [by clicking here](. What’s a stablecoin, and how do policy-makers plan to regulate it? Our School of Block episode [is here]( to give you some answers. [Inside Ledger] Are you a Solana fan? You can now Buy & Manage Solana (SOL) through Ledger Live Desktop AND Mobile! → [More info here](. … And [Cronos (CRO)]( is also directly available to be managed through the Ledger Live app. It’s 1 app for all your crypto needs! 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