Ethereum Foundation unveils new ESP grants program

Siren token experienced a sharp 16.4% decline in the past 24 hours, trading at $0.247 as the market cap contracted by $34.4 million. Our analysis of on-chain metrics

The post Privacy is ‘Constant Battle’ Between Blockchain Stakeholders and State appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Blockchain industry participants and regulators continue wrangling over privacy rights as the European Union’s sweeping Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules look set to ban privacy-preserving tokens and anonymous crypto accounts starting in 2027. Credit institutions, financial institutions and crypto asset service providers (CASPs) will be prohibited from maintaining anonymous accounts or handling privacy-preserving cryptocurrencies under the EU’s new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) that will go into effect in 2027, Cointelegraph reported in May. Maintaining the right to access privacy-preserving coins like Monero (XMR) has been a “constant battle” between blockchain industry stakeholders and regulators, according to Anja Blaj, an independent legal consultant and policy expert at the European Crypto Initiative. “Once you think of how the states want to play out their policies, they want to establish control. They want to understand who the parties are that transact among themselves,” said Blaj, speaking during Cointelegraph’s daily live X spaces show on Sept. 3. “[The state] wants to understand that to be able to prevent whatever crime and scamming is happening, and we want to enforce the policies that we create as a society.” Her comments came as the EU ramped up its regulatory oversight of the crypto industry, building on the bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Related: Swiss banks complete first blockchain-based legally binding payment Room for negotiation remains While the AML framework is final, regulatory experts still see potential for negotiation until it rolls out in 2027. Policymaking is a “continuous conversation,” meaning that “nothing is set in stone, even if the regulation is already out,” said Blaj. “There are still ways to either talk to the regulators, see how it’s going to play out, how it’s going to be enforced.” While there’s always room for negotiations with policymakers, the regulation concerning privacy-preserving cryptocurrencies and accounts is becoming “more…

Santander’s digital bank has launched crypto trading in Germany, letting customers buy, sell, and hold these assets. At launch, Openbank customers in Germany can get their hands on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Litecoin, and Polygon. Openbank, the digital arm of Banco Santander, has just rolled out a new crypto trading service for its retail customers in [...]]]>